Best Friends?
by ShitCook
Summary: Sanji's latest break up has him questioning himself. When he asks his best friend, Zoro, for a "favor", he reacts differently than Sanji expected. Will Zoro's secret finally be revealed? What will happen to their friendship after their falling out? - AU - YES IT'S OOC! IT'S AN AU.
1. Chapter 1

"She dumped me, Zoro. What am I going to do with my life now? Cami was everything to me!" Sanji clung to Zoro's shoulders, crying his eyes out against Zoro's bare chest. It was 3 in the morning and he _had_ been sleeping after all.

"You'll be okay, curly. There are plenty of options out there. I'm sure there is someone out there for you." Zoro hugged Sanji in his doorway, not really knowing what else to do. This has happened continuously over the last 4 years, but he had never gotten used to it.

"I thought she was the one Zoro! Shit! Why does this always happen to me? Am I not good enough for anyone?" Sanji wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck, squeezing tighter and crying harder.

Zoro grit his teeth at Sanji's statement. Nothing the blonde had said before had e _ver_ pissed him off so fast. He placed both of his hands on Sanji's tear-stained cheeks and jerked his head up so their eyes met.

"Don't you _**ever**_ say that again! Do you hear me?! You deserve to have everything! One day, you'll meet someone who loves you for who you are and you are the only thing they need to survive. You are absolutely good enough, dammit! If they can't see that, it's their loss. You only deserve the best, Sanji." The tears in those ocean blue eyes stopped forming as Sanji's mouth hung open at his best friend's words.

Speechless, Sanji simply hugged Zoro tightly again, while Zoro internally panicked at letting his emotions and feelings get the best of him when Sanji needed him the most.

Zoro waited patiently until Sanji's sniffling had dissipated before he spoke again. "C'mon. Let's get some sleep. It's a good thing neither of us work on Saturday."

"Can I sleep with you tonight," the cook asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Of course." Zoro wrapped his arm around Sanji's shoulders and guided him towards his bedroom.

The cook gladly accepted the comforting arm around him and laid his head against Zoro's huge bicep as they walked. Once they reached the T in the hallway, Sanji stopped and laughed when Zoro tried to pull him to the left.

"Your bedroom is this way, moss for brains." The blush that spread across the tanned man's cheeks at getting lost in his own apartment was never going to be an old sight. Sanji giggled a bit and grabbed the swordsman's wrist to pull him towards the right end of the hallway and his bedroom.

Together, they walked into the bedroom and rid themselves of everything, but their boxers.

Sanji crawled under the covers first and picked up Zoro's side, inviting him under them with him. Zoro couldn't refuse and smiled down at the cook as he crawled in bed next to him.

This definitely wasn't the first time they'd be sleeping in the same bed and Zoro knew Sanji was a cuddler. After the first time waking up with Sanji wrapped around him like a snake, it became a habit to just cuddle together before falling asleep. Why try to stop it when Sanji was going to latch onto him like a leech in the middle of the night anyway? Some people questioned their 'friendship', but it worked for them.

Like clockwork, the blonde latched onto Zoro after he'd gotten under the covers completely. The lithe body inched closer to his, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

"'Night, moss head." Zoro smiled at the nickname.

"'Night, shitty cook."

* * *

Sanji lay awake in bed with his head resting on Zoro's bicep, irritated that he was always an early riser. He usually loved the mornings and tried to enjoy them as much as possible, but not today. He wanted to sleep away everything that took place between him and his, now, ex girlfriend. He had already been up for a while, thinking about too many things that he never imagined would cross his mind.

Looking for a distraction, he rolled his head to the side and watched Zoro sleep. The man's mouth was hanging open and some drool ran down his cheek while small snores escaped him. Sanji smiled at Zoro, a fleeting thought crossing his mind that he almost looked cute.

Ignoring his thoughts, he reached up and pinched Zoro's nose shut and counted down from five. On the last second, Zoro shook his head from side to side and shoved Sanji's hand off of his nose. Zoro cracked open one eye to stare down at his abuser.

"Bastard," the green-haired man muttered. In retaliation, he wrapped his arms around Sanji's head and buried his nose in long blonde hair. Thinking he wasn't doing any harm to him, Sanji let the swordsman do it.

Oh, did he regret it.

Mere seconds later, Zoro used his arms around Sanji's head to his advantage and pulled the cook's face into a hairy armpit.

The blonde squirmed and squealed as Zoro laughed evilly, knowing he had more upper body strength. His cries and curses were muffled by damp green hairs. Struggling to get free, Sanji desperately kicked out with his two best allies.

When a foot connected with his sack, Zoro grunted and tumbled from the bed, cupping himself.

" _ **Fuck!**_ Jesus christ! Fucking bitch, cunt lickin' mother of a whore!" Sanji panicked and jumped down onto the floor, quickly untangling himself from the other half of the blankets that weren't pulled down when Zoro fell. He landed gracefully on his knees next to a rolling marimo, who proceeded in cursing, and moved his hands to rub at his face, as if trying to wake himself up from this nightmare.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" Without thinking about it, Sanji began to rub his hand against Zoro's dick, trying to help comfort his injury.

"SANJI! GET. YOUR HAND. OFF. MY DICK!" Sanji turned eight shades of red, yanked his hand back and put some distance between them.

"Shit. Zoro, I'm so sorry." Sanji began to tear up. He just couldn't do anything right, could he?

Zoro moved his hands to look at Sanji when he heard the sadness in his voice. His eyes were puffy from the night before and they were getting wet again. His bottom lip trembled a bit as he tried to hold back the tears.

Trying to ignore the pain, he groaned to sit up and scoot over next to Sanji. When he was close enough, he grabbed Sanji's wrist and yanked him forward.

The cook yelped at the sudden movement, but when he realized why Zoro did it, he let himself relax against Zoro. The green-haired man's legs were crisscrossed to give his junk some air to breathe, so the blonde fell into an awkward position. Remaining on his knees, his cheek was pressed against Zoro's pectorals and a hand ran slowly through his hair.

"It's okay. It just hurt like a bitch is all." He paused for a moment, silently requesting Sanji to accept his attempt at comforting.

Understanding the hesitation, the cook wrapped his arms around Zoro.

The accepting hug made Zoro smirk. The cook was too easy to predict.

To lighten the mood a bit, he had to add a little something.

"So, why did you decide it would be a good idea to touch my dick? That turns people on, ya know. Do you feel intimidated by me now?" He smirked down at his friend and was met with blonde hair. If he leaned over a bit, he could see the pink on the blonde's cheeks. However, Sanji did something he hadn't predicted.

Sanji opened his mouth and bit down on the skin between Zoro's abs and pectorals.

"Ow! You ass!" Sanji let his own smirk creep onto his face and he looked up at Zoro.

"Bitch, please. Who would be intimidated by _that_ size? A double A battery is bigger. I feel bad for whoever you've slept with." Zoro pulled back, looking completely insulted and pained, making Sanji regret what he had said. "I'm just kidding!" The look vanished and the smirk returned.

 _Oh, fuck._

"Are you admitting that you think my dick is big?" The cook's cheeks turned a deep red again.

"Can we stop talking about your dick already?!" The green-haired man laughed at his embarrassment. They'd already had that talk anyway.

"Fine. Get back on the bed and tell me what happened last night." It wasn't hard to miss how much the blonde deflated at the idea of the topic, but there was no way he was going to get out of it.

Reluctantly, Sanji pulled away from Zoro and climbed back onto the bed under the covers, trying to find some of the warmth that he lost when he ended up on the floor. Plus, he wanted to be comfortable while he relived the nights events.

Zoro crawled in next to him. "So, why did she dump you?"

Sanji rolled over onto his back to stare at the ceiling, not wanting to look at Zoro as he explained things.

"Well, she said it kinda started when she realized she didn't want to have sex with me. In all honestly, I don't think either of us wanted it. I know I said I loved her, but I had a lot of time to think over things this morning while you were sleeping. It doesn't bother me that we broke up. I realized that my feelings for her were slowly disappearing anyway." As he talked, he felt Zoro shift beside him and stare at him. He probably wasn't expecting to hear those words coming out of Sanji's mouth. Sanji ignored it and kept going. "It's probably part of why I didn't want to sleep with her. I want my first time to be with someone who I love and it will actually mean something. I stayed with her though because I didn't want to break up with her after getting her to go out with me. Also, she said she didn't want to date you. I didn't understand what she meant by that. Then, she told me that dating me was like dating both of us because I'm so close to you. She said she never would've been able to stay with me while I was a package deal with you. I never noticed until she said anything, but you _were_ there for like, half of our dates."

"Okay, some of those were accidents! Is it my fault for wanting to hang out with you and watch a movie too?!" The blonde laughed at his reaction.

"I know. I didn't mind, but she did apparently." It was silent for a moment before Zoro spoke.

"I'm sorry. If I'd know-" Sanji cut him off.

"Stop. If either of us had known, I wouldn't have changed anything anyway. We would've ended up going our separate ways no matter what. It was for the best."

"I guess. So, are you already over her and going to go after another girl again?" Zoro questioned.

"Actually, no. Like I said, I've been thinking a lot while you were asleep. If I had had strong enough feelings for her to have sex with her, I still probably wouldn't have."

"What? Why?"

"Honestly, I'm not even sure. If I was ever given the chance, I'd turn her down. She was the most beautiful girl I've dated too. When I realized that, I couldn't help, but doubt myself." Sanji shifted in the bed. He sat up so he could look down, right into Zoro's emerald green eyes. "Zoro. I've thought about it a lot and I've made up my mind. I want to ask you something."

Zoro was hesitant at first. This _couldn't_ be what he wanted it to be. Could it? "What is it?"

"Will you have sex with me?" Sanji watched Zoro's eyes open wide, his jaw dropping as he sat up in bed. His jaw opened and closed a few times, at a loss for words. Suddenly, his jaw clamped shut and he turned red up to his ears.

It wasn't exactly what Zoro had in mind that he wanted Sanji to say, but he'd take it, nonetheless.

"What.. What are you saying?" Zoro asked. Sanji tried to explain himself quickly.

"Please? If I didn't want to have sex with her, couldn't that mean I'm gay? I'm okay with losing my virginity to you because you _do_ mean something to me and you're the only guy I trust to handle my body whatsoever. Plus, if I'm the girl, technically, I'm still sort of a virgin. And, you're not gay, so it's not like I have to worry about you wanting sex constantly afterwards. To me, you'll be my best friend no matter what, so it shouldn't change anything between us." The cook was breathless by the end of his explanation. Breathing in heavily, he waited for Zoro's answer.

" _To me, you'll be my best friend no matter what."_

Zoro just didn't know what to think anymore. For the longest time, he had wanted Sanji to ask him something like that or similar. Now, he regretted it.

And he was pissed.

"What the fuck?! That's your shitty goddamn reasoning?! Could you be any more fucking _pathetic_?!" He paused and squeezed the sheets in his palms, trying to calm himself down before he said something that gave away his feelings for Sanji. "Because I'm your _friend_? Because we're best friends and not _gay_ , so it won't change anything? That changes fucking everything, Sanji! And you're still worried about holding onto your damn virginity for someone else? Plus, I'm sorry if I don't want to fucking play the rebound boy toy after you get dumped! As your fucking _friend,_ I never thought you'd try to fucking use me like that!"

Sanji flinched and felt the tears prick at his eyes. He hadn't expected Zoro to react so violently like this.

"I-I'm sorry.." A tear slipped from his eye and ran down his cheek.

"I don't care if you're fucking sorry! Just get the hell out of my house!" The swordsman shoved the blonde from his bed.

Sanji's tailbone hit the floor hard. That was definitely going to bruise. The only thing he could do was sit there, stunned and crying at the man's outburst. Zoro screamed again, causing Sanji to snap out of his temporary trance at the most recent events.

"Get the fuck out, you dick!" Zoro pointed to his bedroom door.

Hastily, Sanji untangled the blanket that fell with him from his ankles and rushed to gather up his clothes.

Successfully picking up his clothes, he ran from the room, slamming the bedroom door and the front door behind him. He only stopped to breathe when he had reached the hallway of the apartment complex.

Sanji slid down to the floor on the other side of Zoro's apartment door with his knees pulled to his chest. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he sobbed on the floor at the loss of his girlfriend and presumably, his best friend.

Unknown to Sanji, his best friend sat in a similar position on his bed, weeping with a broken heart.

 **TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

Zoro knocked vigorously on the door. He paced back and forth while he waited for someone to answer.

Jumping when the door opened, he turned around to see an old lady standing there.

"Is this not Nami's apartment?" The lady seemed confused. "Redhead?" She smiled at him and pointed to a door across the hall from hers.

"It's that one, dear. Do be a sweetheart and ask her to keep it down next time, please." It was Zoro's turn to look confused. "She'll understand. Thank you, dear." She smiled at him before patting his arm and shutting the door again.

Still confused, he went to the door the old lady had pointed at and pounded on it. This time, he waited patiently. After knocking, a loud crash was heard in the apartment. He heard Nami yelling at someone, but they didn't yell back. There was another  
crash as Nami screamed again.

Suddenly, the door flew open.

Nami stood there with ridiculous bedhead, half dressed in underwear and a T shirt, scowling at two men. One only wore knee high socks and was using his clothes to cover himself. Embarrassed, the man rushed to the elevator, not even giving Zoro a second  
glance. However, the other man, dressed in only boxers and folded clothes under his left arm, noticed Zoro and he wasn't taking his eyes off of him. When Zoro looked at him, the man simply licked his lips and eyed Zoro's delicious and sweaty body  
like candy.

"Well, hello there, beautiful. Do I get the pleasure of learning your name at least?" He took Zoro's hand in his and kissed the back of it, making Zoro blush. He was just like Sanji, but only with men instead of women all the time. He even had the blond  
hair. Albeit, it was short and stuck up like Zoro's instead of down and long like Sanji's.

Zoro took a moment to actually look at him. He was an incredibly attractive man. He was _almost_ as built as Zoro himself. His skin wasn't tan, but it wasn't pale either. Being so exposed, the swordsman didn't miss the exquisite physique the man  
had. Why a man like this would want to sleep with a witch like Nami, Zoro would never know.

Suddenly, Nami punched the man upside the head, not giving Zoro a chance to answer the man after checking him out. The punch caused his head to bounce off of the door frame too.

"He refuses to take my seconds, no matter how good they are. Now, get out!" Nami shoved at the man's back, but he willingly stepped outside her apartment, still holding Zoro's hand in his own. Despite what Nami's answer told him, he kept on smiling anyway.

"Perhaps, I can be the exception." Releasing his hand, the man stepped closer to Zoro, and wrapped his now free arm around Zoro's waist. A hand slipped into the back pocket of his work out shorts. Zoro did his best not to show any reaction, but it was  
nice to be the one being chased once in awhile, so he let it happen. The hand squeezed his ass in a tight grip enticingly. "My card," he said before retracting his hand. "You have a wonderful rear end, by the way. May I stay long enough to watch you  
walk into Nami's apartment or could I simply ask you to turn around?" Nami took the chance to jump in.

"Just get out of my complex already, dammit!" Nami swung at him again, but he dodged it.

He smiled at Zoro again. "It made my morning to meet you, even if I didn't get your name." He kissed Zoro's hand again in a goodbye and left, blowing him a kiss from the elevator.

"Christ, Zoro. You never let them talk to you, let alone, touch you." She reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the card the man had slipped into his pocket. He grabbed it back from her and tucked it back into his pocket. Might as well keep his  
options open. There's no use wasting any more time on Sanji. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later. Let me take a shower first. By the way, the lady across the hall asked you to keep it down. Who were those guys anyway?" He pushed passed her and headed straight for the bathroom, dropping his clothes and other items on the couch.

"Fine, but hurry up. I need one too." She followed him towards the bathroom for a bit and leaned against the door frame while he started to get undressed. "The one that was eye banging you was some high dollar corporate manager and financial advisor.  
He owns a few hotels and co-owns like six others. He said he knew I was trying to steal from him from the start. He _did_ catch me taking like, $600 out of his wallet too. I honestly have no clue who the other guy was or where we even picked  
him up at. He had a good ten inches in his pants though, so I didn't mind."

"Wow. Now, get out. I need to shower." The green-haired man pushed her out and shut the door, making sure he locked it. It always pissed him off when she would just walk in.

After turning on the shower and taking off his boxers, he stepped in, not really caring what temperature it was. He was more focused on thinking about the night before.

He remembered being excited at first, thinking Sanji actually wanted him. Then, in the anger that came next, he had called Sanji pathetic and chased him out of his apartment.

He rubbed at his eyes, mad at himself for what he did, but damn. It hurt. It hurt so bad to hear Sanji say what he had. It felt like his heart was cut skillfully out of his chest with a scalpel and dropped into a garbage disposal.

Maybe he just needed to move on from him.

That brought his thoughts back to the man he'd met in the hall. His interest in Zoro couldn't have been more obvious. Maybe he could get to know that man. Zoro could turn his feelings towards him instead. If he did, then, he could forget about his feelings  
for the cook and be friends with him again.

Who was he kidding? The man from earlier looked too much like the cook. If the man earlier looked different, would Zoro still be interested? Plus, he didn't want to use that guy as a replacement for Sanji, especially if he wanted a real relationship with  
Zoro. To top it off, he obviously just had sex with Nami. She was right about what she had said earlier. He didn't want her seconds, especially if they were _sloppy_ seconds. He shuddered at the thought.

Quickly, he washed himself and got out, still contemplating what to do.

Well, this was why he came to Nami's, to ask her for the advice. Plus, Sanji didn't know where she lived because Nami always refused to let him come over.

Grabbing a towel from the cupboard, he towel dried his hair and his body a little before wrapping the towel around his waist, leaving his dirty clothes on the floor. Nami was sitting on the couch in the living room texting when he reached it to retrieve  
his clean outfit.

"I'll just get dressed out here. Go shower and brush your teeth. Your breath smells like sweaty ballsack."

"Thank you." Standing up, she smiled and made sure to breath heavily as close to his face as she could get before going to take a shower.

After quickly putting clean clothes on, Zoro sat on the couch and let his head fall back. He closed his eyes, the stress and lack of sleep making him feel all the more tired now that he wasn't moving. He began to doze off, but was woken again when his  
stomach growled. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes and got up from the couch. Nami had to have bread or something to snack on.

Walking to the kitchen, he glanced at the counter, where she usually kept the bread. Thankfully, there was about four and a half pieces left. He took everything that was left and threw the bag in the trash. Putting two in the toaster and the half in his  
mouth, he opened the fridge and looked for some jelly. Helping himself, he decided on raspberry. He was digging through all the drawers, looking for a butter knife to use when Nami came out of the bathroom with a single towel on her head. Zoro didn't  
notice her until she spoke.

"You're burning the toast again," she said. He looked at the toaster and sniffed the air.

"Shit!" Reaching over, he pushed the little cancel button and his toast popped up. He pulled the two pieces out and dropped them on the counter. Half black. "Dammit. Where are the butt-," he turned to ask her, but spun back around right away. Luckily,  
he finished the piece of bread earlier or he would've just choked on it. "Jesus Nami! Put some fucking clothes on! I don't want to see that!" He wanted to burn the image of her naked body covered in marks from his retinas.

"Yeah right. Everyone knows this body is the body of a goddess. Even Sanji knows it. Everyone wants this. Besides, you're gay anyway. So, why do you care?"

"Sanji thinks _every_ woman has the body of a goddess! And just because I'm gay, doesn't mean I'm fine with seeing you naked!"

"It's my house. I can do what I want."

"Nami, just put the towel around you at least." His stomach growled again. "And tell me where the butter knives are!"

"In the strainer next to the sink, idiot." Zoro glanced at the counter, careful not to catch sight of Nami again. Next to the the toaster, sat the strainer, full of clean dishes. On the other side of the strainer, the sink had a few dirty dishes in it  
also.

He sidled over in front of the toaster, grabbed a knife and put the other two pieces in the toaster. This time, he made sure to turn the toaster down.

"You can turn around now. I'm all covered." To prove her statement, she jumped up and sat on the empty counter space next to the toaster.

"Good." He didn't bother looking at her and started to spread jelly on the second piece of half burned toast.

"Now, why don't you start telling me what happened and why you let Vince touch you." _Here she goes,_ he thought. There was no way he was going to avoid this conversation anymore. He could try though.

"Who?"

"The rich corporate guy! Idiot. Who else has touched you this morning? Exactly, probably no one." Zoro scowled at her and picked up his first piece of toast to eat it.

"Witch." She smacked him in the back of his head, making his face smash into the bite of toast he was about to take. The toaster popped and Zoro simply glared at Nami, who had a devious smirk on her face.

They both knew she timed it, but Zoro just didn't want to deal with it today, so, he turned away, ignoring her. He wiped the jelly off of his nose with his hand and rinsed it off in the sink. Then, he proceeded in making his food.

"Jesus christ. It must be serious if you're actually not going to fight with me." Might as well get it over with.

"Sanji asked me to have sex with him."

"Isn't that a good thing?" she asked. Nami sounded almost excited about it.

"He said that he thought about his break up with Cami, which I'm assuming she already told you about, and told me he didn't have real feelings for her either. After the break up, he realized he wouldn't ever have sex with her. He started going on about  
how he thought he might be gay." Zoro still recalled the excitement he felt when he heard the cook say the words.

"All I'm hearing is good stuff so far."

"Would you shut up? I'm getting to the rest of it. Anyway, he asked me, and don't get me wrong, I was excited at first, but I asked him about it. His reason was that because I'm his best friend, he trusted me and that I was the only guy that he trusted  
with his body. Then, he said I'm not gay so I wouldn't be constantly wanting sex afterwards, like other guys would."

"So, basically, he asked the guy that is in love with him to use him for sex one time and then wanted you to go back to being friends?"

"Yup. It pissed me off and I fucked up. I started yelling at him and.." Zoro paused for a second, remembering the moment he had said it. Nami waited, knowing how hard this had to be for him. "I saw him start crying and I didn't even care to stop. I called  
him pathetic and kicked him out of my house. He wouldn't leave at first, so I shoved him out of my bed and told him to leave again. He ran out crying and slamming doors. I don't know what to do now."

"Isn't it obvious? Tell him already, you dumbass!" Nami smacked him upside the head again for emphasis.

"Nami, we've already had this conversation. You know I can't!"

"You can. You're just too much of a pussy to do it, Mr. No Balls."

"True, but telling him would mean losing him altogether."

"You don't know that dammit!"

"We both know the kind of guy he is. He fawns over women and believes every man should worship women, not other men. What are the chances that he _wouldn't_ hate me for being gay? Very slim. On top of that, in love with him! That makes it nearly  
impossible that he'd still even want to be in the same room with me. Nami, we only had a small falling out last night and I already hate myself for what happened. He probably hates me too. Can you imagine what it's going to do to me if he finds out  
that I'm gay _and_ in love with him?"

"Zoro, you moron. You're forgetting some minor, but very crucial details here. This is _Sanji_ we're talking about here. You two have been best friends for who knows how long now and there is no way that he would drop you because of some small detail  
like you being gay. In friendship terms, yes, he does love you. I know for sure, he wouldn't trade you for any other friend in the world. Sure, the fact that you're in love with him might take some getting used to, but I don't think Sanji would cut  
off your relationship. Either way, not telling him is just going to make things between you two worse. You have a few choices here. Drop him and forget he existed, which I highly suggest you _**don't**_ do, idiot. You can tell him  
you're gay and that you love him, which is probably the best option. OR you can not tell him and go back to trying to pretend to just be his best friend and watch him date other women and possibly other men now too."

Zoro stiffened at her last words. He hadn't even thought about that. "Nami, what if he left and already lost his virginity? He was in so much pain. What if he went out to get drunk and got raped? Nami-"

"Relax! Jesus. He already drunk called me last night, saying he was back at the Baratie for some drinks with his dad. He knew you'd come here, so he called and told me to tell you if you got worried. Then, he started rambling on about how much of an awful  
person he is and can't do anything right." They sat in silence, letting all the information that they had shared, sink in. Well, relative silence, since Zoro thought it would be a good idea to chomp on his second to last piece of toast as loudly as  
possible to annoy the redhead. On his last few bites, she growled at him. "I'm going to get dressed. You should really consider telling him. I guarantee you, he will take it better than you think." She hopped down and opened her towel to adjust it  
again.

"Warn me when you're going to do that! I guess I'll think about it. Can I stay here for the next few days?" He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see her naked again.

"That was for chewing so loud, you sick animal. I guess you can, but I'm not letting you leave until you tell me your decision. Plus, I'll raise your debt until you make the right choice, for each day you stay here and for the advice. Oh and, I hope you  
brought headphones."She snatched his last piece of toast and left the kitchen to go get dressed.

After she was gone, Zoro mumbled a quiet, "witch" under his breath. Not surprisingly, the redhead hollered back, "I heard that!" from her room. The swordsman simply smiled.

If he was staying for a few days, he'd have to ask Nami to go distract Sanji for a bit or something, so he could go get his swords, headphones and other sure as hell wasn't going to let her pick them up for him, but he didn't want  
to take the chance of running into the cook.

He sighed deeply. The next few days were going to be hell, living with Nami and trying to figure out what to do with Sanji and all.

Jesus. _Should_ he tell the cook?

Deciding that he could always think about it later, it was officially nap time.


	3. Chapter 3

After the argument with Zoro, Sanji stayed at Zeff's for a while. Going back to his apartment, especially on a Saturday, sounded like such an awful idea when he knew Zoro wasn't going to show up. He chose to stay a few days because his apartment was full  
of memories with the other man. To top it off, he didn't want to deal with all of the fan letters he knew would be piled up at home. Being a semi-famous chef, his private life wasn't really his private life anymore. The recent change in his relationship  
status would, no doubt, spread like wildfire.

He let out an exaggerated groan while laying on his bed at the idea of going back home.

It has only been a little over a week since the swordsman and the cook had their falling out and Sanji had never been so miserable. He'd been heartbroken over some break ups in the past, but that was nothing compared to this. Losing Zoro was so much worse  
than losing any woman. He'd spent the last few days working his ass off and then drinking himself to sleep before going back to work with a slight hangover. It wasn't healthy, but at this point, the cook really didn't care. Anything that would get  
his mind off of his current situation with Zoro would be welcoming.

Rolling over, he looked at his clock. It was only seven in the morning on a Sunday. The restaurant was only open until noon and he had the day off. Of course, he had Saturday off too, but that didn't stop him from working. However, today, he didn't have  
a choice. The old man threatened to fire him for good after he caught Sanji working tables and cooking in the middle of the lunch rush hour. He wasn't going to take the chance of actually getting fired.

He didn't even think about it when he grabbed the half empty wine bottle from his nightstand, sat up and took a long swig. His head throbbed as he held the bottle in one hand and his head in the other.

"Fuck." He needed to go home and _definitely_ needed a shower.

The hangover was going to be awful.

Knowing he didn't have to work the upcoming day, he let loose the night before and worked his way through bottles upon bottles of wine. Altogether, he probably made it through about five and a half.

Although, that didn't mean he was going to stop drinking today. He couldn't care less if he ended up with alcohol poisoning. Hell, it was a miracle he didn't have it already after last night.

Giving himself a pep talk, he stood up, and made his way downstairs with the bottle, his phone and wallet in hand.

When he reached the restaurant below Zeff's place, he could smell the bacon cooking and heard the sizzling of food. One of the steps squeaked.

"You finally up, Eggplant? Help with cooking, worthless brat. You practically moved back in and only managed to chase off my customers." Sanji reached the bottom of the stairs and watched his old man help out here and there. Patty was the only other cook  
there since Sunday's were such slow days.

"I'm not fallin' for it. I'm leaving. Don't try to suck me into getting fired, you shitty old man. I'm the only reason your customers come around anymore." He took another long drink of the wine.

"Then shut yer yap and get out!" Zeff turned around to yell at him some more, but he stopped when he saw Sanji carrying the bottle of wine. "Alcoholic! It's only seven! How much have you had this morning?" Wood clicked across the floor as Zeff hobbled  
towards Sanji and ripped the bottle from his hand.

"Hey! Only like two drinks dammit! Give that back so I can leave! That one is mine!" The younger blond reached out for the bottle, but was kicked back and landed on his rear end a few feet away.

"This is staying here," he said, shaking the bottle in his adopted son's face. "You're already going to be driving while intoxicated. Get the hell out and fix whatever you need to with that moss-head." In response, Sanji had scoffed at the first two statements  
and was mildly surprised at the third.

"How..?" Recovering, he tried to cover his surprise. "What makes you think it has to do with him?! I just went through a breakup you shitty old fart!"

"Because you never even said you broke up with the latest girl and you haven't said anything about her since you got here! I also have yet to see the moss ball show up at the restaurant to see you all week, which he usually does at least twice. Since  
you've been drowning your liver in alcohol the second you walked in my doors, I'm assuming it involves him. It's not hard to put two and two together Eggplant. Now put some clothes on, get out and get your shit together." Zeff turned his back and  
walked away from a wide eyed Sanji. Zeff noticed? Was it that noticeable?

Pouting like a child, he stood up and brushed off his boxers. "I don't need clothes. I'm just going home to take a shower anyway. There's no point. I'm wearing boxers at least." He ignored the older man's calls after him and grabbed his keys from the  
backroom.

Stepping out the back door was a relief. The breeze blew through his boxers and felt nice compared to his hot bedroom upstairs. The fresh air was relaxing and calming in a way.

Standing outside the restaurant now, he admired the view of his car from far away.

She was a convertible 1969 Camaro SS, tuxedo black with an original ivory interior. There were a few modifications on her, but she was a beauty. When he found her, the engine was already junk so he had put a Turbo Jet V8 in her and swapped the transmission  
with a 6-speed manual at the same time. Because why not? Manually and fast was always a better way to go, no matter what.

She was the only babe in his life that he'd never truly be without. Seeing her again brought a smile to his face.

Honestly. Why hadn't he come out to drive her sooner?

Walking over to his car, he spoke. "Hey, baby. Did you miss me?" When he reached it, he ran his hand up the side of the hood as he made his way to the driver's door. He didn't hesitate to unlock his car and climb into the nice leather seats.

Feeling a little bit more confident about going back to his apartment, he started the car. After leaving the parking lot, he headed towards his apartment, glad that there were few cars on the road this early on the weekend.

No matter what was going on, driving always seemed to calm him down and help clear his mind. He wanted to do everything he could to avoid thinking about Zoro, but even when he was driving, he would occasionally look over, expecting to see Zoro there with  
his arm hanging out of the car or fiddling with the radio. The drive home was soothing and seemed to help, but there was still that nagging feeling in the back of his mind about his entire situation with Zoro. He tried to ignore it the rest of the  
way home.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building. Parking his car in his usual spot, he sat in the car for a few more minutes, preparing himself for what was coming next. When he realized it wasn't helping  
and only making his anxiety worse, he got out with a "fuck it" mumbled under his breath.

Climbing out, he checked to make sure he had his wallet, phone and keys and locked his car before heading towards the elevators.

The walk to his apartment seemed like it had all just gone by in a blur. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of his door, wishing the old man hadn't taken his wine.

He slid the key into the lock slowly, really not eager to be home. Pushing open his door, it stopped after a second, leaving about a six inch gap to wiggle through. Leaning his head against his door, he let out a deep groan at the reminder of all the  
damn fan letters he probably racked up within the time he was gone.

Squeezing through the gap wasn't hard for him to do. Slamming the door afterwards probably wasn't the best idea, but he did it anyway. Like he thought, he heard his neighbor curse at him through the wall. In response, he simply flipped up his middle fingers  
and growled at the wall and continued his path to the kitchen.

Sanji kicked his way through the pile of envelopes on the floor, not wanting to acknowledge them at the moment. All he wanted was some more wine.

When he reached his kitchen, the first place he went was the wine cabinet. Pulling out a cheap and easily replaceable bottle of Merlot, he opened it and drank.

The hard wine ran down his throat easily, leaving a slight burning sensation at so much at once. It reminded him of his green-haired best friend.

Bitter, yet addictive enough to leave you wanting more. The pleasantness of the slight burn reminded him of their fights. It also had a complimentary color that belied the real contents.

He giggled a little at his color analogy. Zoro's hair was unbelievable. He'd told Sanji that it was some super rare birth defect in his genes before, but the cook still didn't know if he should believe it or not. In a way though, the color fit him. Unique  
hair for a unique person.

The thought brought a smile to Sanji's face.

It felt like his world came crashing down and the floor was yanked from underneath him when he remembered that the swordsman was no longer his friend. Zoro was no longer by his side.

The smile fell and so did Sanji. Sliding to the floor, he sat there, sipping at his wine.

Fuck, he missed the marimo. They did so much together. The swordsman was like one of his hands.

Holding up the bottle, he tried to see how much wine he had left.

Half the bottle at least. Still holding the neck, he sat the bottle on the floor next to him.

He shut his eyes, venturing into his own thoughts.

Why did he have to fuck it up by asking Zoro to sleep with him? Was he not good enough for Zoro maybe? He'd had males hit on him before, but maybe Zoro just wasn't attracted to him or willing to sleep with a guy.

The possibilities were pretty much endless.

He leaned back and smacked his head off of the cupboards, not caring about the pain in the back of his head adding to his hangover headache. At this point, he thought he might even deserve it. Stupid him for thinking Zoro would be okay with it. Why would  
he be? Sanji asked him for gay sex for fucks sake!

Sighing again, he opened his eyes, deciding he should really take that shower.

The Merlot never left his hand in the process of standing up. In fact, he held the bottle tighter than ever and drank some more.

He began to make his way towards the bathroom with his new companion in hand. Before he got far, he stopped. Something lightly bounced off of his foot as he stepped forward. Looking down, he realized it was all of the letters of his fans.

Upon seeing them, he decided to put off his shower for a bit longer. Shredding them was a guilty pleasure of his. He didn't believe in falling in love like that. Sanji wanted to get to know someone and meet for the first time face to face, not through  
paper and ink. Shredding themwas also probably a healthier stress reliever than wine. He sat the wine on his coffee table before returning to the envelopes.

Quickly, he scooped up the first pile into his arms and made a few trips before the floor was spotless from envelopes. He had gathered them onto one cushion of the couch before pulling out his shredder. Hopefully, shredding some hearts would help ease  
the pain in his own.

For being love letters, the fans really chose to make them colorful sometimes. They ranged from neon to black to neutral colors. A few had really beautiful drawings on the fronts. Some were covered in hearts, vines, roses and even cookware. Though there  
were so many, very few were actually one plain color that matched another. He estimated that in total, there was probably, at minimum, 200 of them that had accumulated during his absence.

He began shredding. Slowly, one by one, he watched them tear to pieces, only paying attention to the sight of the envelope disappearing between the vicious teeth and coming out the bottom. Time seemed to go by at a turtle's pace, but he enjoyed every  
second of it. He enjoyed listening to the sound of the shredder eat up the paper.

It must've been at least a half an hour later when he stopped and stared at the envelope in his hand.

It was a simple and plain. More importantly,it was green.

The most important detail was on the front. In perfect calligraphy, it read "Shitty Cook".

It was from Zoro.


	4. Chapter 4

Sanji stared dumbly at the envelope in his hand. He was torn between ripping it open and not wanting to look at it.

What if it was something bad? But what if it was something good? Well, if it was good, wouldn't Zoro be there in person to say it instead of sending a letter?

Deciding, Sanji turned the envelope over to open it. Slowly, he began to pull the lip of the envelope up, careful not to tear it.

He pulled out the letter and held it, searching for the courage to open it. Reminding himself that this is the most he's heard from Zoro and that he didn't know when he'd see him again, gave him just enough to open it, even if it did turn out to be bad  
news.

Upon opening the tri-folded paper, he began reading the first of two pages.

 _Dear lovely cook,_

Wait. What? Sanji read the line a second time and then a third after rubbing his eyes. He read it over and over again for a few minutes until he remembered he should probably keep reading.

 _Yes, it says lovely cook. Stop reading it over and over again, idiot._

The cook chuckled a bit at that. Zoro knew him so well.

 _First off, the only reason I'm doing this is because the witch convinced me to. We kind of compromised on a letter. Personally, I would've preferred it if I didn't have to do this, so don't think I'm some romantic or sappy._

 _You need to know why I said no to you, but first, I need to say I'm sorry for calling you pathetic. It's been eating me up ever since I said it. You're far from pathetic. I was just angry and said and did things I didn't mean. Also, I hope your ass is okay. I know my floors hurt._

 _The reason I told you no isn't what you think. I know you've been beating yourself up over it. It's just like you. You're an attractive guy, so don't think that's why. Plus, I'm fine with gay guys too, so nothing against that part._

 _This is probably confusing, so I'll explain myself a little. To start, well, I'm gay. I didn't want to tell you because I thought you'd hate me for not wanting to worship women the way you do. You believe all women should be pampered and put on a pedestal, not men._

Zoro admitting to being gay brought on a flashback.

After asking Zoro to have sex with him, he had said that Zoro wasn't gay and wouldn't want sex constantly afterwards.

Oh my god. He probably insulted Zoro when he had said it. He continued reading, hoping he'd find out if the swordsman had found it insulting.

 _Every time you met someone new, you'd come to me, your best friend, and tell me how happy you were and how beautiful your new girlfriend was. I would sit there and say nothing or lie and say I was happy for you. I'll be honest. I tried. I really did. I tried so hard to be happy for you because I knew that's what a best friend should do. I just couldn't be happy for you. That was what made me first question things._

Oh god. He didn't insult him, but maybe he'd done something much worse.

 _Afterwards, you'd tell me about how I need a girlfriend. Now you know why I never got one. I'm gay and I wanted my best friend._

 _It tore me apart to know that the beautiful smile on your face wasn't because of me, to see you with all those women. It made my day each time I could get you to smile the way she did. Seeing you smile was like eating after being starved for months or finding an island after being lost at sea for decades._

He set the page aside and finished reading the paragraph on the second page.

 _I'll never be able to forget the way you dance and sing around the kitchen when you cook or the way you look when you get angry over my messy kitchen. Is it bad that it's attractive and a really big turn on when you get sassy with me over it? You always wear the perfect suits and it makes you look just as delicious as your food. By now, you've probably caught me staring at your nice ass more than a few times too._

Sanji blushed. Trying to pretend Zoro's flirtatious comments and compliments didn't affect him, he kept reading.

 _And honestly, and you'll never hear me admit this again, but, your food is the absolute best. The first time I ate it, I almost had an orgasm on your bar stool. Also, it's the cutest thing ever when we'd watch tv and you'd snack on the popcorn, turning and twisting in your seat constantly because you just can't sit still. The way you get scared when we watch a horror movie and curl up against me under the blankets was always the best because it really felt like I had you for a moment. You know I don't believe in God, but when we'd cuddle in bed, I swore it felt like a piece of heaven that I'd never reach. I'd remember best friends is all we'd ever be._

 _That's part of why I reacted the way I did when you asked me. I can never forget the words you said to me to justify why you asked me to sleep with you. You said that, to you, I'd always be your best friend, no matter what._

 _It ripped me apart. Getting mad at you when you asked was like a defense mechanism._

 _You have probably figured it the point of this letter already, but I still need to say it._

 _I love you, Sanji._

At that simple sentence, Sanji felt tears prick at his eyes.

Zoro _loved_ him.

 _I've loved you for at least a year now. I've always thought just being there as your best friend would be good enough until you asked me that. Nami has always known. That's why she made me tell you._

 _I know this is a lot to take in all at once, so I left._ Sanji felt his heart speed up and the tears threatening to fall at the last two words. Was Zoro really gone?

 _After taking a week to write this and have it delivered, I left. I'm visiting some family and I'll be back in a week._

Sanji let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. It was only temporary.

 _Hopefully, it'll give you enough time to think about everything. I'll be back home next Sunday morning. If you're still okay with having me in your life after my secrets are on the table, you know where to find me. I just want to finally have a chance with you. If you're not okay with that, you don't have to ever see me again. Just forget about this letter and forget about me. I'll stay out of your life. I just can't take the heartbreak anymore._

 _Just remember, no matter what you choose, I'm always going to love you._

 _Forever,_

 _Your Marimo_

Sanji felt the tears finally slip out his eyes and roll down his cheeks.

He'd caused Zoro so much pain and suffering and he hadn't even noticed. What kind of best friend was he? Now, he had to ask himself the question of what he should do.

Could he eventually love Zoro the way Zoro loved him? He had thought that he might be gay, but actually dating a man? Could he do it? The fact that it was Zoro wasn't a problem. He could admit that as a man, he found the swordsman attractive. The green-haired  
man could make _asexuals_ want to screw him.

The thought of anyone else having sex with Zoro made his stomach churn and he wanted to run to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach.

There's no doubt he felt possessive towards Zoro sometimes. He has even felt jealous towards Nami, especially when he had read the letter. The swordsman told Nami his secrets and not Sanji. If the only secret that she knew was that he loved the cook,  
Sanji could understand. But Zoro had thought that he couldn't even come out to Sanji..

Picking up the letter and his wine, he carried them both to his bedroom and dropped the letter on his nightstand before heading to the bathroom.

It was too early for shit like this. Hopefully a shower with Merlot would help calm him down a bit. Maybe it'll be easier to sort out his feelings.

Without much thought, he stripped and climbed in.

Unfortunately, when he got in, all he could think about was how Zoro probably felt right now. The water was doing nothing to wash away his guilt. The warmth of the water was relaxing, but the thinking only made himfeel all the more guilty for hurting  
his best friend so much without noticing what he was doing to him.

He climbed out and dried off before heading to his bedroom in a zombie-like trance and fell into bed.

Sanji curled up in a ball on his bed and let the depressing thoughts take over.

 _What am I going to do?_

* * *

 **A/N - Ugh. This chapter is so much shorter than my others! I apologize! Originally, I just wanted it to be Zoro's letter. Luckily, most of it kinda is still. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and thank you for all the wonderful reviews! It makes my day when I get them!**

 **Also, if you follow 50 Shades of Sanji, no worries. I'm currently working on the next chapter! So, stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5

Sanji's noisy alarm rang throughout his bedroom. It nearly broke when he brought his hand down on top of it harshly to hit the snooze button. Vaguely, the feeling of deja vu came over him and he looked at the clock.

10:37 a.m.

It was Monday.

He was late for work.

Jumping from his bed with curses, he quickly ran to the bathroom to freshen himself up a bit. He threw on some deodorant and tried to get his hair to stay down. Unfortunately, that particular task took a lot of hair gel. He'd have to remember to get some more of that.

From the bathroom, he could hear his phone ringing and cursed again. No doubt it was the shitty old man wanting to know where he was. He ran back to his room, ignoring the incoming call. When he was trying to pick out an appropriate suit for the day, his phone went off again and he growled, irritated at his old man. Sanji threw on some clothes, grabbed his necessities, including cigarettes, and ran to his car. Starting it up, he took off to work with the pedal almost all the way to the floor.

Five minutes before he was at the restaurant, his phone rang again. Angrily, he answered.

"What?! I'm on my way you annoying old fart!"

"Turn around and go home, dumbass. We already got Carne to cover your shift and another waitress was willing to come in this morning, so we don't need you. Take another day off. Knowing you, you still haven't figured your shit out yet anyway. Might as well take tomorrow off too," Zeff said. Then, Sanji heard the line cut off. Zeff hung up on him!

"Fucking old man! Making decisions like that so suddenly!" Sanji threw his phone into the passenger seat and slowed down to the speed limit. He pulled into a nearby parking lot and pulled out a cigarette. Today was already turning out to be terrible. Zeff was right too. He hadn't figured out anything yet.

After chain smoking a few cigarettes, the cook took a moment to figure out what to do and what parking lot he was even in.

Looking out his window, he knew exactly where he was when he saw a pink neon sign on the side of the building.

Kamabakka Kingdom.

It was a popular gay bar in town, located just a few blocks from the Baratie. Only good things have been said about the place. Also, being so close to the famous restaurant, the Baratie got a lot of gay couples from here that want to have a quality dinner together, especially since they were one of the best restaurants around here that serve the LGBT community without a problem. Seriously, people made such a big deal out of such a tiny detail like how people self identify. Tch.

Staring at the sign made him think of Zoro. Would going inside help him figure out anything? At the least, maybe he could figure out if he was really bisexual or gay.

At this time in the morning, the bar was probably closed, so he decided to make plans to go later that night before driving home. He hoped to clean to keep himself busy until tonight.

* * *

He'd been sitting in the parking lot for a while now, contemplating what he was about to do. Making up his mind, he got out and locked his car before heading towards the double doors.

At first, he didn't expect to like it, but he changed his mind once he got inside the building.

The place was actually pretty big and was lit up mostly by red lights, full of men and women. A dance floor was placed in the center of the room. For being a Monday night, the floor was pretty full. Three quarters of it were surrounded by railing, but there were a few sets of steps to get on and off the floor. There were four poles set up on small circular stages in different areas of the dance floor for whoever wanted to dance on a pole, three of which were currently occupied. It was set up so that the dance area was about a foot below the surrounding area that held tables and booths for people to lounge in and drink. Luckily though, there weren't many tables filled since almost everyone was dancing.

To the left, A set of stairs led upstairs to multiple private rooms for anyone who wanted to be alone or wanted a personal dance or anything of their choice really. On the right side of the place was obviously the bar itself with two bartenders wearing extremely tight shirts. On the opposite side of the room from the doors, was a larger stage and a catwalk with another pole, which was obviously for shows.

To start the night, he found a place at the bar and hailed a bartender. "Scotch on the rocks." Sanji was going to need something strong to get him through tonight.

He sat on the stool at the bar as he waited for his drink.

"Well, hello sweetheart. You come here often?" Sanji didn't even look to his side at the man that sat down next to him as the bartender handed him his drink. He downed half of it before he answered the man.

"First time," he answered simply. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to talk to this guy or not, but he came in here to find some answers for himself. He had to start somewhere, right?

"Oh? A first timer, huh? What made you come here? First boyfriend cheat on you or somethin'?"

"Nope. Pure curiosity." The man laughed at that and Sanji finally turned to look at him.

Dark black locks covered the top of his head under a horrendous orange cowboy hat. His skin was light tanned shade, not as dark as Zoro's, but not as pale as Sanji's own. _Did he just compare this guy to Zoro?_ His cheeks were covered with freckles that made him seem sweeter in a way. He was shirtless and only wore black cargo shorts and a pair of black boots to match.

"Glad to see I'm finally worth your attention." Sanji brought his eyes back to the man's face and saw the smirk. Suddenly, his hand was thrust out towards the cook. "Ace."

Slowly, he took the hand in his own and shook it. "Sanji." Something crossed Ace's face when he said his own name. Ace's eyes flicked up to the curled eyebrow and his face seemed to light up in realization for some reason.

"Well, Sanji, no one comes here out of pure curiosity. You might as well be straight with me." They both let out small chuckles at the awful pun.

"I'm sure it isn't hard to figure out. Questioning my sexuality, obviously," the cook answered before ordering another drink from the bartender.

"What brought you to question it?" When the bartender came over to fulfill Sanji's request, Ace threw down some cash. "Sex on the beach, please." The bartender nodded and walked off to fetch Ace his drink.

"Went through a breakup and the aftermath just made me think about a lot. Asked a friend for help with it. He freaked out and took off for a bit. Turns out, he was gay and didn't think he could tell me." Sanji sipped at his drink. He didn't know why he was telling Ace this stuff, but spilling to a stranger about the situation actually helped. Ace had a certain charm about him that the cook liked and the alcohol certainly helped. Plus, what are the chances he'd even see the other man again after tonight?

"If he's gay, why would he freak out about the possibility of _you_ being gay?" Ace asked. The bartender brought his drink and Ace drank it thoughtfully as Sanji pondered how to answer the question without having to explain too much.

"I asked him to have sex with me. After he left, he wrote me a letter telling me how much he loved me," he said before downing his second glass as Ace choked on his. The cook knew his limits, but he ordered another drink anyway and tried to tell himself to simply sip at the entire thing. "In the letter, he said he wanted a chance with me, but I'm still on the fence about it. I mean, the idea of being bisexual had only _just_ crossed my mind before he confessed. So, I don't know if I could do it or not. We've been friends for so long, and I do like him, but I don't know if it can be enough to be considering dating him. That's why I'm here, to figure out the limits to my sexuality for a start." He drank his beer a bit and added as an afterthought, "he's pretty damn hot too."

Next to him, Ace had finally got himself back together after nearly choking to death.

"Yeah. Love really complicates things sometimes." They sat in silence, sipping at their drinks for a bit until the freckle faced man stood up to leave. Sanji turned on his stool and simply watched him stand up and didn't care to think about what Ace was doing until he spoke again. "I'll tell you what. I want to help you figure this out."

"Why would you want to help a complete stranger you just met? And how do you intend to help me? No offense, but I'd rather not mess around with a stranger to figure out my sexuality," Sanji blurted out. Ace only smiled back at him.

"I want to help because I don't want pretty boys like you to be down or stressed about something longer than you have to be." The smile that spread across Ace's face showed how much he enjoyed seeing the blush appear on Sanji's pale cheeks. "Also, I won't even touch you. I'll be on stage in about fifteen minutes. I know I'm sexy as hell and I rule the stage, so if I can't give you a hard on, there's only two answers left for you to figure out." Sanji was slightly surprised at first. The thought of Ace being any kind of dancer working here hadn't even crossed his mind.

"I didn't know you worked here." Then, he realized he'd said that out loud _and_ gotten off topic. "But what two answers are those?" Ace was certainly piquing his curiosity.

"I'll tell you if you don't get hard. Deal?" Sanji took a long drink of his scotch and set the empty glass back on the bar. Seeing if he was turned on by watching Ace would certainly help him figure things out. It's not like Ace would be touching him, so he wouldn't confuse stimulation from a man with liking men in general.

"Okay. Fine by me." As soon as the words left his mouth, Ace's lips were there to catch them. Sanji sat there, frozen in place, completely caught off guard by the kiss as Ace's tongue dipped into his mouth a bit. He felt his lips move back a little in response, but even with some alcohol in his system, he was still unsure about this. It only made it worse when Zoro crossed his mind for a split second, but before he could push the freckled man off, the mouth on his was already gone.

"That's all I wanted." Ace licked his lips to catch the last tastes of the cook that were left behind from the kiss. "A kiss to seal the deal, baby." He blew a kiss to Sanji as he backed up and disappeared into the crowd in the direction of the stage, leaving the cook frozen in his seat to stare after him.

 _What had just happened?!_ He turned back around to face the bar in his seat and ordered a beer to replace his scotch. Recalling the recent events, all he could really do was wait for Ace to dance. After all, answering his own questions was the entire reason for coming tonight. There was no point in backing out now.

While he was waiting, he ended up having to chase off a few guys wanting his number or to take him home tonight. Each guy that came up to him made him doubt that he may be gay or bisexual.

Then he'd remember Zoro and he'd be back to questioning himself.

Not long after he chased away the 4th guy, the music was cut off and everyone shuffled back to their seats without complaint. Some even moved their stuff to a table closer to the stage. Seems like he was one of very few people, if not the only one, who knew there was going to be a show tonight.

A voice came over the speakers and all the lights were shut off.

"Ladies and gentleman. Lots of us came tonight for one reason and one reason only. The moment is finally here. I present to you, Firefist!"

Lights were immediately turned on and directed at the stage and modernized Egyptian style music began to play. He could still hear the original instruments, but he doubted it was the original song.

The lights were mostly focused on a single man on the stage. There were two backup dancers behind him on each side, but they were meant to be side dishes to the main course.

As the men began to dance across the stage, Sanji admired their outfits.

Taking a closer look, he realized the main course was Ace, dressed like a gypsy. His hair was sprayed over with glitter to make it shine and appear green. A small cloth covered his nose down and hung there, only showing off his eyes, the green eye shadow, and the dot between them. He was still shirtless, but he was adorned with a skull necklace and a string of beads that wrapped around his body. Ankle bracelets, regular bracelets and a thick bracelet was wrapped around his left bicep also. The last piece of jewelry was the thin gold band that sat atop his head in place of his cowboy hat. Instead of cargo shorts, he wore what seemed to be maroon colored capri leggings with a rip down the outside of the thigh and calf and small designs that Sanji couldn't make out from where he was sitting. His legs were covered by a maroon and light green panel skirt. He wore white heels instead of his boots and a green sash was tied around his waist. More beads decorated his waist and the sash itself. A matching scarf-like piece of material was being held by the man.

Sanji leaned back against the edge of the bar on his stool and watched as Ace turned and swirled the scarf thing slowly around himself as the beat of the music slowed down a bit. The trio continued to move across the stage and began to dance along the catwalk. The backup dancers stopped a certain distance away from the pole and danced on their own, but Ace kept going. As the speed of the music picked up again, he wrapped one hand around the pole. Dancing around it, he shook his hips back and forth in a seductive way, causing the beads to chime and clink along with the music as he stepped in a circle around the pole. The way he moved his hips was extremely enticing.

Sanji had gone to a few strip clubs before, but he had to admit that Ace was pretty good at what he does, especially if most of these people came here to see him on a Monday night.

He watched in awe from the bar as Ace continued to dance, occasionally using the pole. He didn't climb up the pole very far, but it seemed he didn't need to be very high up when he flipped and threw the panel skirt into the crowd at the same time. As the song continued and the beat slowed again, Ace strayed back to the other men. He found it somewhat surprising that he didn't even want to look away when they began to grind provocatively together while simultaneously stripping each other when the beat dropped and the music went wild.

As he watched, he tried to keep track of his arousal. When Ace bent over a bit and shook his hips, Sanji felt himself twitch in his pants. Even from this distance, he knew how to admire a nice ass when he saw one, man or woman. Did that qualify as being bisexual? The only other time he felt aroused was when Ace was grinding against the pole along with the beat of the music.

When the performance ended and the dancers disappeared from the stage, Sanji turned back around towards the bar while he waited for Ace. Watching the man dance only left him more confused. As he drank, he thought about what this could mean.

There was no doubt that Ace was attractive. He had checked out men before and still does, but he couldn't get hard for Ace like he normally would a woman. Does that mean he would be incapable of liking Zoro, even if he wanted to? He took another drink of his beer and felt it add to the fuzzy feeling building in his stomach. Oh yeah. He forgot to incorporate the fact that he's intoxicated into the equation. Maybe it was only because of the alcohol that he couldn't get hard for Ace. Should he come back and try this experiment again when he's had less to drink?

"I'm back, baby doll. How'd you like the show?" Sanji glanced over to see Ace back in his regular clothes.

"You're a really good dancer. Seriously." His words came out more slurred than he'd hoped, but he was coherent enough. He turned on his stool so that he was facing Ace and he could lean his side against the bar.

"Thank you. So? Did you get hard?" The man smiled back and brightened at the compliment, but the look immediately turned into curiosity.

"Not even half hard." After he'd spoken, Ace looked extremely hurt by his words. "I'm sorry, Ace. You were great. You really were. It's just me. Not to mention, I've had more than I usually do tonight and it's harder to turn me on when I'm down like this and intoxicated. If it helps any, you have a really nice ass." Ace's smile came back at the compliment again.

"I know right?!" he said, standing up and turning around to show off his ass some more. Sanji giggled and did check out his ass some more, sipping at his beer. Even in the baggy cargo shorts, it looked good. Then, Ace sat back down.

"I wanna try something really quick. Close your eyes." Sanji stiffened at the request.

"Are you gonna kiss me again?" Ace only laughed.

"No, idiot. Now, close your eyes!" The cook was still skeptical.

"Why should I?" he asked.

"Oh, for the love of-. Just humor me!" He thought about it for a second before shutting his eyes. Ace seemed like a trustworthy guy. "Thank you! Do you remember the outfit I was wearing up there?" Sanji only nodded in response. "Good. Now, I want you to picture your friend wearing that outfit."

Sanji sat there for a moment, trying to understand what Ace was trying to do. When he remembered he was supposed to be imagining Zoro, he changed his train of thought.

Instead of Ace in those leggings and beads, he pictured Zoro. The swordsman would look so good with the green on him. The skull necklace, beads and bracelets would compliment his beautifully tanned skin. Although, he imagined Zoro would need a larger one around his bicep than Ace's was. The man was too sexy for his own good.

Ace seemed to notice his deep thought and didn't ask before he kept talking. "Now, imagine him dancing like I was." Sanji did. The first moves that came to his mind were the two that turned him on.

First, he imagined Zoro slightly bent over and shaking his hips at Sanji, making the beads chime together and giving him an amazing view of his ass as he held onto the pole.

 _Oh god. Zoro's ass._

He bit the inside of his lip and tried not to groan at the thought of it. It would definitely be a weakness for Sanji. Ace had a nice one, but Zoro's was every definition of _perfection._ It was the perfect size and it was pure muscle. Something like that in tight leggings with slits in the sides..

 _Fuck._

The slits would show off the muscles of his thighs and calves, which looked like they were hand chiseled by a god. Zoro would always admire Sanji's legs, but the cook could never voice his opinion of Zoro's out loud. Sanji has seen so many pairs of legs, but none of them could compare to Zoro's. Those legs could make him lose his mind, especially if he ever saw Zoro dancing like Ace had been.

He tried to imagine the swordsman's face being covered from the nose down to show those threatening and enchanting dark eyes. The defined muscles in his shirtless chest would only seem more emphasized with the beads around his body.

Instead of imagining him dancing more, the Zoro in his head decided on stripping as he stared at Sanji from over the edge of fabric covering his nose. In his mind, Zoro slowly took off the panel skirt, showing the package hidden underneath the skirt and the leggings. Approaching Sanji, Zoro would lay both of his forearms on Sanji's shoulders as he straddled the cook's lap. Zoro would start to grind himself against-

"Fuck! What the hell are you doing?" Sanji yelled. Ace had decided it would be a good idea to reach out and grab the cook's erection for some reason.

Wait.. His erection..

"I've been sitting here trying to get your attention for the last five minutes since you decided to throw a party in your pants." Ace moved his hand a little and Sanji realized he still hadn't let go of him. "What in the hell have you been thinking about? You're rock fuckin' hard!"

Sanji smacked his hand away, turned so his arousal was hidden from sight better under the bar and tried to adjust himself. His face was completely red and he knew it. If he ever sees Ace after tonight, there's definitely no way he'd let the cook live this down.

"Seriously though Sanji. I thought you were going to finish right there. I really was convinced I was going to get to watch the entire thing. I mean, I watched you get a little turned on, and then you were completely hard and when I tried talking to you, you didn't say anything!"

"Shut the fuck up already!" His face felt like it would burst into flames any second.

"Well, I guess this gives you a little more of an answer though," Ace said.

"What?" Sanji wasn't sure what he was talking about at first and then felt stupid when he remembered. "Oh. Right."

"You could be bisexual, but I think we both agree that you're bisexual for him. Lucky guy." A saddened look crossed Ace's face, but it wasn't there for long. "Here." Ace slid his hand across the bar and left a card sitting in front of Sanji. "Call me sometime and keep me updated on you and the future boyfriend. If he ends up not in the picture, you can still call me." Ace winked at him and hollered at the bartender. "This one needs a taxi."

"What? No I don't. I drove here."

"You've been drinking and are highly intoxicated. I'm not letting you drive home like this." Sanji huffed and glared at his new friend, but he couldn't say no. He was pretty drunk.

"Be here in ten minutes."

"Thanks, Marco." Ace turned back to Sanji. "Give me your keys. Marco can hold onto them until tomorrow. It's a policy we have around here. We'll even make sure you locked it. Sound good?"

"Fine, mom." Sanji handed over his keys. Honestly, Ace had an extremely well made point and Sanji had no reason to fight it. It only further proved his point when Sanji handed his keys over and missed Ace's hand twice. His car was his child, after all.

Before Sanji could argue, Ace grabbed his beer and finished it.

"Hey! What'd you do that for? I'm not driving, remember?"

"I'm saving you that extra fee you have to pay when you puke all over the backseat of the cab."

"I'm not gonna pu-." Sanji paused. "On second thought-"

"Bathroom is that way," Ace said, pointing around one end of the bar. Sanji nodded in thanks as he wobbled passed people on the way to the bathroom.

"Should we tell Zoro about that?" Marco asked.

"No. Tonight was just for Sanji. Zoro doesn't need to know unless Sanji wants him to. If Sanji left with someone, it would've been different, but he obviously only has a hard on for Zoro," Ace replied. Marco only grunted in response and went back to his bartending duties for the night.

Ace waited for Sanji by the bar to be sure Zoro's crush got home safely.

* * *

 **A/N - Oh my gosh! Thank you for the reviews! Hopefully, this chapter makes up for the super short chapter 4. Also, I based Ace's gypsy appearance off of a picture and I don't have the link to the picture now, but I will post that with the next chapter. I just really wanted to post this chapter. I hope you like it! XD  
**


	6. Chapter 6

"No. He's not here anymore. He left a few days ago after he wrote the letter," the redhead said.

"Okay. Thank you, Nami-swan. You're so-" He heard the click of being hung up on. He tried not to think anything negative about the women Zoro hated most of the time. Trying not to be angry at her, he set his phone on his nightstand carefully and lay down on his bed again.

After his visit to Kamabakka Kingdom, he'd figured out enough. He was definitely attracted to other men, but there was only one he was really interested in at the moment. Sure, if him and Zoro ever stopped dating or whatever, he could maybe try something with another man, but he was incredibly picky about his men too. Plus, he really couldn't stomach the idea of him and Zoro not being together.

It has only been four days and was now Friday night. Sunday couldn't come fast enough. He wanted to see Zoro again. Life just wasn't the same without him. At least he'd convinced Zeff that he'd figured things out and to let him go back to work for the rest of the week. He'd been preoccupied during the day at least. What was he supposed to do at night though? It was hardest when he was trying to fall asleep and he couldn't get the swordsman out of his head. He'd think back to the nights that him and Zoro would fall asleep cuddling each other and end up missing those arms around him. There were a few times that he'd thought such things, like when he would break up with a girl, but he usually just brushed it off. Cuddling with a girl was nice, but it was so different from with Zoro.

That was how he ended up calling Nami. He was just _craving_ to see the mossy swordsman. There was always that slim chance that Zoro didn't really go see family, but stayed at Nami's instead. Also, it was night and he didn't know what to do for the weekend.

He grabbed and pulled at his hair in frustration. When had the marimo become such a big part of his life? He let go of his hair and laid one arm over his face, losing himself in his thoughts about the swordsman.

The man possessed the most beautiful and smooth skin. Honestly, the cook wouldn't deny that he was somewhat jealous of it. A lot of girls were attracted to that. Not that he was saying Sanji himself wasn't attractive with pale skin. However, Zoro was sexy as hell.

Slowly, as his thoughts engulfed him, his brain slowed down and he was fast asleep.

* * *

" _Cook." Zoro placed a small kiss on Sanji's forehead. Cracking open his eyes, he looked down at the green-haired man laying underneath him. The kiss roused him enough that he pulled his head off of the broad chest his cheek was resting on. He glared back at the smirking swordsman._

" _What?" was all he said, with a hint of minor irritation in his voice._

" _You're just so cute when you sleep. If I saw you sleeping any longer, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop myself from doing anything to you while you slept." Zoro chuckled at the cook's glaring face that was now shaded with light reddish pink._

" _Pervert." He reached up and flicked Zoro's nose, knowing it was one of the fastest ways to piss him off. Suddenly, he squealed when he found himself flipped over and straddled instead. His wrists were pinned to the pillows on either side of his head and his hair was spread across the pillows, revealing both of his eyes._

" _I'm not the one who has had a raging boner for the last fifteen minutes from laying against someone," Zoro said as he smirked and slid Sanji's hands above the cook's head so he could hold them in one hand. As he did, he brought his free hand down to rub the cook's erection through his sleep pants and boxers. "Who's the pervert now, cook?"_

 _Sanji was insanely embarrassed and it only worsened his entire problem when Zoro decided to rub him. A moan slipped out, but he bit his lip halfway through to suppress the rest of it. The next thing he knew, the swordsman's mouth was on his, pulling the same lip he had been biting, into the other's mouth. The kiss ended sooner than either would've liked, but the green-haired man did it for a reason._

" _Let me hear you, shitty cook." He nibbled at Sanji's ear and dragged his tongue down his neck. Zoro's arms followed their own path as he continued kissing his way down the cook's body and touching him after he kissed each spot._

 _All Sanji could do was lay there, watching and feeling Zoro's lips touch his skin. After his precious hands had been released, the cook didn't feel the need to move. He just laid there and enjoyed the feeling of Zoro's mouth and fingertips running over his skin. How did it take him so long to notice how much he felt for this man?_

 _Sanji continued to watch as Zoro began to kiss his happy trail and his fingers were tugging at the cook's few layers of clothing. Without hesitating, the cook lifted his hips enough so that Zoro could pull the pants and boxers down to his thighs. He watched closely as the swordsman leaned down towards the cook's hardened member. His warm breath only ghosted over the tip and-_

Sanji sat upright in bed, panting hard. Why did he have to wake up right when the good part was just getting started? He cursed under his breath and reached for a cigarette. He'd only been asleep for about twenty minutes. He sighed and decided it would be a good idea to take a cold shower. Masturbating to Zoro had crossed his mind, but he also know he'd only feel disgusted with himself afterward.

Well, it was nothing a good, long, cold shower couldn't fix.

He pulled himself off the bed and headed for the bathroom while trying to think of a way to distract himself for the night and tomorrow.

When he finally finished his shower, his 'problem' was fixed from the cold water and he had an idea of how to spend his Saturday.

Sparring.

However, it was still an idea at this point. With Zoro gone, he needed a fill in partner. Hopefully, he could fall asleep easily and think of an alternative sparring partner than the man he had in mind.

After setting an alarm, the cook crawled under the covers and dozed off sooner and easier than he had expected.

* * *

"Oh, Mr. Prince! Good morning!" The odd swan man pirouetted in greeting down the hallway when he heard that the famous cook had come back. "I'm so happy to see you again! It's been some time since you've last stopped by. What brings you here today?"

"Good morning Bon. It _has_ been a while. Mossy is out of town this weekend, so I finally have some free time."

"Oh? Is everything alright? He never struck me as the traveling type. Especially without you. Say, are you guys dating yet? Is something the issue in _that_ department, _hmm?_ " Sanji felt his cheeks heat up at Bon's insinuations, but he hid it well and tried to avoid having that particular conversation.

"Yeah. Everything is fine, but a therapy session is not why I came here."

"Of course. My last student from this morning just left. Would you prefer the gym or should we take this out to the backyard?"

Sanji shifted from foot to foot, thinking about the question. Taking his stress level and being slightly upset about Zoro's absence into account, it wasn't hard to pick.

"Outside is probably a better idea this time. I'm not in the mood to pay for repairs in the gym," he said, making his friend chuckle and turn towards the receptionist behind the main desk.

"Inform the families for the afternoon class that it will be canceled for today," he told her before turning back to Sanji. "Well, what are we still standing here for then?" Bon turned and led the way down a hallway in the direction Sanji knew the back door was located.

Like a child on Christmas morning, he quickly followed Bon Clay down the hall.

He felt his lips twitch into a smile. His heart rate picked up and he felt the blood pulsing in his veins, causing an excited tingle in his limbs as he stepped outside under the heat and brightness of the sunlight. The idea and excitement of a sparring session never failed to get the blood and adrenaline flowing.

As soon as his polished shoes hit the grass, he brought his leg up to block the other leg coming at him and calmly lit up a cigarette before pulling a wicked smirk.

"Is that all you got in you today?"

* * *

The fighting had lasted for a few hours, both men finding it unnecessary to stop. By the time they had finished, the cook had made it through his first pack of cancer sticks and his spare pack, and Bon was in need of a new pair of ballet slippers.

At 5 o'clock sharp, they both lay in the grass, chests heaving for air.

Sanji had divested himself of his jacket and undershirt long ago, not caring about the sunburn he would surely have.

Carefully, he rolled over and crawled across the grass towards the training dojo. When he reached it, he was glad to find the outside hose had been in the shade.

After turning the knob on the side of the building, cool water began to flow from the hose.

Usually, drinking from a hose was something he wouldn't do, but after the long spar, he happily drank it. Plus, he didn't want to admit it, but after hanging out with Zoro so much, he was okay with doing some things he used to find absolutely disgusting and unsanitary. Like, drinking from a hose like a dog.

The cold water almost burned as it slid down his parched throat. He continued to drink until his throat didn't feel nearly as dry, stopping occasionally to catch his breath again.

When his thirst had been quenched for the time being, a devious smile spread across his face. Sliding his finger over part of the end of the hose, the pressure built up inside the hose and pushed out the water through the gap next to his finger twice as hard as it had been before. He rolled over enough to spray the swan man with the hose.

"Dam-! Dammit! Mis-!" Bon flailed around on the ground for a few moments, trying to get to his feet. "Mr. Prince! My outfit!" he shouted, finally standing up.

Sanji could only laugh, but stopped spraying the man and turned the water off. He knew exactly what it felt like when an outfit you loved was ruined.

Bon stood there, dripping wet in small puddle from all the water, looking absolutely distraught. Even the swans that were around his shoulders hung down precariously. The sight of him made the cook laugh harder.

He sat up, shut his eyes and tried to catch his breath. Bon Clay was no Zoro, but it didn't mean Sanji didn't like to fuck with him. A lot.

"You're an ass. You know that, right?" Sanji opened his eyes to see Bon's hairy legs in front of him.

"You're still friends with me though," he responded, looking up at the swan man. Bon let out a small chuckle, but said nothing. Surprisingly, he took a seat next to Sanji on the grass in the shade of the building.

"Today.." Bon paused, not knowing how to really say it. "We haven't done that in ages, especially for that long." He paused again and the cook picked up on what Bon was trying to say.

"Bon, everything is-"

"Don't you dare say it's fine! I know it's not. Zoro left and you came _here_ for a fight?" he somewhat asked in disbelief. "Sanji, that's never happened before. I just want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to."

Sanji stayed quiet. A lot of his friends didn't like to show they cared and one of them was Bon Clay. The moment made Sanji happy, but he chose to smile at his shoes instead of his friend.

"Bon, I promise. Everything is okay. Zoro is coming home soon. I just needed to distract myself while I waited instead of thinking about him all the time. It's been tearing me apart all week to wait for him and the day is only getting closer, but it feels like it's not getting here fast enough," Sanji said softly. Absentmindedly, he began to play with the grass, only his subconscious mind thinking of Zoro.

When he hadn't heard his friend speak or move, he looked up to see the man looking at him with a pervy, knowing grin across his face.

"What?"

"Think about everything you just said to me, Mr. Prince." Why did Bon have to be so confusingly cryptic sometimes?

Sighing, he slowly thought over each sentence he had just relayed to Bon.

" _Zoro is coming home soon,"_ was the first line that came to mind. There was no stopping the heat in his cheeks. It only got worse as he thought about everything else he'd spilled.

After thinking, he looked back at Bon, who had a devious look on his face.

"I-It's not what it sounds like!" Sanji tried to defend.

"Mhmm. I hope you don't expect me to believe that," Bon said. Now he was the one who got to sit there and revel in Sanji's embarrassment.

Sanji was baffled by himself. He stood and brushed himself off before going to get his jacket and shirt.

"I'm getting hungry, so I'm gonna head home. Thanks for today," he said,before walking towards the gate for the fenced in yard.

"Let me know how things go with Zoro!" Bon hollered from behind him. He only waved back from over his shoulder when he reached the parking lot.

Missing the marimo all over again, he climbed into his car and dropped his clothes into the passenger seat. At least he had successfully cleared his mind for most of the day. Stopping by a liquor store on the way home, he picked up a carton of cigarettes before finishing the drive home.

Time seemed to slow down when he got back to his apartment. Making dinner wasn't a problem, but he caught himself still watching the clock, even while he ate.

Berating himself for not making something that took more time to make and consume, he sat on the couch, bored out of his mind.

His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a notification from Trivia Crack about how long it has been since he's played.

Why not? It was another way to waste time.

After all 3 lives had been wasted, it was only a little after 8. Grunting in irritation, he took a shower, trying to drag it out as long as possible. Zoro was supposed to come back anywhere from between 4 and 16 hours and he didn't want to wait anymore.

Making up his mind, he made some onigiri before leaving his apartment around 10 and heading to Zoro's in his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of thin sweatpants and one of Zoro's shirts. He slipped some shoes on, only bothering to grab his wallet and phone.

He only lived about 5 minutes away and it was a cool night, so he chose to walk. Carrying the onigiri in the container close to his chest, he began the walk with a cigarette between his lips.

When he reached Zoro's door, he tried to walk in, but was surprised to find it locked. Zoro never locked his door. Well, after thinking about it, it made sense that he'd lock it since he was gone for two weeks.

Now what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to miss Zoro when he got home.

It was decided. He walked back home and brought a small blanket back to Zoro's. He sat down in front of the door with the blanket over him, the onigiri next to him, playing Trivia Crack and waited.

* * *

 **A/N - Hello! Thank you for the reviews! Also, to the guest who reviewed and wanted this to be in Zoro's point of view, I'm sorry! I didn't want it in Zoro's point of view yet to drag out the suspense of him being away.  
**

 **To everyone, this chapter is kinda sucky and it's been so long since I've updated! I'm so sorry. It's kinda like my filler chapter and I've had some pretty down days and days filled with homework. Anyway! Even if it's crappy, I hope you enjoy it!**


	7. Chapter 7

When he arrived home, Zoro wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this.

With his one suitcase in hand, he stood in front of his apartment door, staring down at the blonde cook sleeping on the floor. His left temple was leaning against the door frame, forcing his neck into an awkward angle that would definitely hurt later. There was drool on his chin, a blanket pooled in his lap and his left arm lay limp across the floor with his phone in his palm. A suspicious box sat next to him.

The sight was welcoming and adorable at the same time. He couldn't help, but notice the shirt the cook wore belonged to him too. Before he could second guess himself, he took out his phone and snapped a picture. That would make a _great_ home screen.

Now, how was he supposed to do this? He didn't want to wake the cook. By the looks of it, Sanji probably tried to stay up all night. Dumbass.

Zoro sat down his suitcase and moved the box and phone won't of the way. After unlocking his door, he wrapped the blanket around Sanji before picking him up bridal style, careful not to wake him. Halfway through the living room, Sanji moved and cuddled into Zoro's chest. That little bit, he could ignore, given that the position sort of made the cook's head lay there anyway. However, he couldn't ignore a thin hand coming up to his chest and grabbing part of his shirt tightly, making Zoro stop outside his bedroom to check to see if the cook woke up. His face showed complete relaxation and peace. How could none of Sanji's ex's fall in love with him? The man was pretty damn close to perfect.

Zoro carefully walked over his bed and laid the cook under his sheets. After pulling the thin blanket off him and setting it aside, he gazed down at the man in his bed, hoping he'd be able to call that man his soon. It was pretty cool tonight, so he slowly slid Sanji out of the shirt and sweatpants, hoping he had on boxers (or was he?). He covered up the cook again once he was done. After checking to be sure Sanji was asleep, he gave a light kiss to Sanji's forehead.

Zoro turned his attention back to his earlier tasks. He went out to the hallway, bringing in his and the cook's things. He left his suitcase in the corner of his room and set Sanji's phone on the nightstand after plugging it into his spare charger. He'd grown accustomed to having the man stay on random nights of the week.

When that task was finished, he grabbed the box that Sanji had with him and carried it to the kitchen. Curiosity got the best of him and he slid the top off a bit to peek inside. He was greeted with four rows of onigiri, each row holding about ten pieces. To think that the cook actually thought about him while he was gone. He let himself smile as he took one before putting the rest in the fridge. He tried to ignore that voice in the back of his head that said it was only a farewell gift because Sanji wasn't a coward when it came to kicking someone out of his life.

Too tired to pay any attention to that little voice, he went back to the bedroom after turning the light off in his kitchen. When he reached the room, he began to strip down and put on some boxers. A bit giddy about being home and his best friend being there, he climbed in bed behind the man he loved and fell asleep.

* * *

Sanji felt warm. Too warm. Wasn't he in the hallway waiting for Zoro? Shit, did he manage to get kidnapped the day before Zoro got back?! When his body stiffened at the thought, he felt a tightness around his body, squeezing him again. He could smell a strong minty musk from the movement. As fast as he could in the tight grip, he rolled over and opened his eyes to see the swordsman's stupid sleeping face. If this was some sort of dream, it was a cruel one.

Cautiously, he reached his hand out to cup the cheek of the green-haired man. When his warm hand met the burning hot cheek, he knew it couldn't be a dream.

He was back. _His_ marimo was _back_!

Without thinking about it, he launched himself at Zoro, wrapping his arms around the man in a tight hug. The launch had rolled them over, so now, Sanji sat atop Zoro, looking like he was trying to choke the man or suffocate him in boobs that didn't exist.

Zoro was slowly waking up when he felt the arms around his head. It also worried him because he felt the weight on his stomach. To put it simply, he'd been having very _pleasant_ dreams.

He opened his eyes in a sleepy haze. To prevent his _issues_ from being accidentally found out, he wrapped his arms around Sanji's waist. There was no way he could tuck anything unless he moved his legs. That much movement would only bring it to Sanji's attention.

Sanji seemed to feel the movement because he sat up on Zoro's stomach and Zoro thought he felt something wet hit his chest. Using his left hand only, he wiped at the spot and realized he hadn't imagined it. He looked up at his ceiling, praying the floor above him didn't have a leak. The drops however, stopped, leaving him confused. What else..?

"Cook..? Are you crying?" What other explanation was there? To further prove his theory, Sanji only sniffled in response. "Why are you crying?"

Sanji was so happy to hear that deep, annoying voice again.

Suddenly, a fist came down against Zoro's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"How could you just up and fucking leave like that, you bastard?!" Next thing he knew, Sanji's head was laying down on the spot he'd hit, his hair tickling Zoro a bit. Zoro felt a few more drops hit his chest and thin arms wrap around his chest. "Don't you dare fucking leave me like that ever again," the cook mumbled. Zoro felt his own eyes begin to tear up.

"I won't, shitty cook." Trying to reassure the cook, he wrapped his arms around cook's back. "It was a one time thing." However, he still remembered that he needed to hide his arousal. That in mind, he kept his left hand farther down, not realizing it was on Sanji's ass. When he gave the cook a light squeeze, the skin under his left hand felt different from what he felt in his right. Only then, did he realize where exactly his hands were. He pulled his left hand off like he'd been burned. "Sanji, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinkin-"

"It's okay." To both of their surprise, Sanji grabbed Zoro's wrist and moved it back to his own ass. "I want to try this," he said quietly and even quieter, "plus, it didn't really feel all that bad either."

That did nothing to help Zoro's erection. If anything, he got harder.

 _Fuck._ He _needed_ to _abort mission. Now._

"Cook. Let's get back to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm staying right here to make sure of that. I didn't think you were going anywhere last time either," he said and squeezed Zoro tighter.

Hearing those words come from Sanji's mouth was like a knife to the heart.

"Cook, I hope you understand why I had to go. You've never shown any sign of being okay with something like this. I didn't mean to hurt you.' He hesitated before admitting the next statement. "I shouldn't have been a coward and run away the way I did." It was eerily quiet for a few minutes, but it felt like years.

"I know marimo. I didn't expect it to hurt as much as it did either. Can we- Can we just stay like this for the night?" _Shit!_ If he says no, it would definitely make the cook mad or upset, but if he says yes, one wrong move and Sanji would know.

Well, he sure as hell wasn't going to risk hurting the cook again.

"Yeah, but don't move all over the place or I'm rolling over and dumping you onto the floor." That made the cook chuckle. Zoro smiled when he heard that laugh again. "Don't test me cook. I'll do it," he warned.

"I know you would, but let me get comfortable first." The way he was laying on Zoro was slightly uncomfortable and made his back sore because he felt all scrunched up. He began to wiggle his body and scoot down on Zoro's.

Thinking quickly, Zoro flipped Sanji off of him and on his back in the empty space next to him. Unexpectedly, Sanji hissed as his back hit the bed and he sat up, breathing deeply.

"Sanji?! Are you okay?! What'd I do?" Zoro placed his hand on Sanji's shoulder and it was smacked off immediately. Even with such a small touch, Zoro felt how hot the cook's shoulder was.

"Don't touch me algae. It wasn't you. It's just a sunburn. I forgot about it." Sanji was outside without a shirt on long enough to burn? That was new.

"What the hell were you doing outside without a shirt on? You know how badly and easily you can burn." Zoro stood up from his bed, listening for Sanji's answer on his way to the bathroom.

"Sparring with Bon. It was hotter than hell and I didn't really care at the time," he said. Zoro didn't say anything and retrieved a bottle of aloe lotion from his bathroom. The bottle was nearly full since neither man rarely burned.

"Get on your stomach, idiot." Sanji did as he was told and the swordsman straddled his thighs. His erection was slowly disappearing and he was glad, since he was about to get close to the cook.

After dripping some lotion all across the cook's back, the man under him let out a loud satisfied moan.

Hesitating now, Zoro began to rub in the lotion and massage Sanji's back. He was careful not to rub and push too hard. So far, things were going okay.

Sanji was more than enjoying it. The lotion being rubbed into his skin only hurt at first, but as Zoro dug the pads of his thumbs into the knots that were built in the cook's back, it felt _so_ much better. Zoro pushed on a particularly tight knot and Sanji couldn't hold in the moan as Zoro massaged the spot.

" _Ahh.. Zoro._ You should really be a masseur." The noises from the cook's mouth made the swordsman freeze completely.

The lack of movement behind him didn't go unnoticed. Sanji tried to look over his shoulder a bit without hurting his back. He couldn't turn far enough to see Zoro without it hurting, so he chose to face forward, laying on his stomach again.

"You okay back there?"

Silence.

After a few moments, strong hands were on his lower back again, making him melt into the mattress. He let out a deep groan when Zoro massaged him again. Really, those hands were magical.

On the other hand, Zoro was trying desperately to hold onto his sanity. The noises from Sanji brought back his erection tenfold and twice as fast as last time. He didn't know if he could hold out much longer.

When Sanji moaned as Zoro pushed into the tissue of his shoulder, he was done. Getting off the bed before he did anything stupid, he headed towards the bathroom, taking the aloe lotion with him and leaving a confused cook on his bed.

"Hey. Where are you going?" the cook asked. The swordsman stopped in the doorway of the bathroom before answering over his shoulder.

"Depends. Do you want the honest answer?" They both thought in silence.

"Yeah," Sanji was somewhat nervous at the million possibilities Zoro could be doing.

 _Should he really tell Sanji the truth?_ Well, he _does_ know that Zoro loves him already.

"I'm gonna take.. a really.. really cold shower," he said before darting into the bathroom.

Sanji's face heated up on the bed and buried his face in a pillow and didn't miss the sting in his cheeks. He probably got burned there too. He sat up and turned on the bedside lamp to look for the lotion. When he couldn't find it, he realized Zoro must've taken it to the bathroom with him.

Fuck. Silently cursing as he heard the shower turn on. That meant Zoro was at least naked already.

He needed that lotion before he went to bed though or it would only be worse in the morning. Climbing out of bed and walking to the bathroom door, he knocked loud enough to be heard over the spray of water.

"Can I come in? I need the aloe!" He asked loudly.

"Yeah!" Zoro hollered back. Slowly, he opened the door. It's not like it was the first time they've been in the bathroom together with one naked, but that changed when Zoro fell in love with him. Things were going to be different now. For better or worse.

Sanji spotted the aloe on the sink across from the shower. All that was separating him from a naked Zoro was a thin curtain..

 _No!_ He refused to peep on Zoro in the shower. Would one little peek hurt though? It's not like they have never seen each other naked before.

Cautiously, he moved over to the end of the curtain that the shower head was on, hoping Zoro was facing the other way. It would've been pointless if he got caught.

Pulling the curtain a tiny bit, he peeked in the shower. Blood ran out one side of his nose almost immediately and he wiped it away frantically.

Zoro's toned body was a always a sight to see, even from behind. His hands were against the wall in the opposite direction of the shower head. _Thank god._ His tan skin looked more beautiful than ever under the spray of water. His back muscles flexed and moved in irritation and Sanji noticed some small green hairs on his back, just above his ass. Sanji could see the tip from where he was standing, concluding that Zoro was definitely a good length and fully erect. It was obvious he was struggling not to touch himself.

Sanji let the shower curtain go, feeling a bit guilty. To top it off, now he needed to take a cold shower too.

He sidled back over to the sink and applied the lotion to all the red on his cheeks to make sure he got everything. He hated sunburns with a passion. Leaving the lotion on the sink, he went back to sit on the bed, hoping he really wouldn't have to take a cold shower. All his praying went to shit though when the door opened and Zoro came out with his boxers on and some water still dripping down his body. Sanji licked his lips at the sight and felt himself stiffen more as Zoro came closer to the bed. Oh how he wished he could just reach out and touch..

"Hey Zoro? Mind if I take one too?" He looked confused for a minute.

"You mean a shower? Probably not a good idea since we just put all that aloe on you." For a second, something clicked in Zoro's head. "Or do you mean a cold shower?" he asked as he climbed into bed and laid down.

Sanji's face heated up. How can Zoro say stuff like that so easily?

"Y-Yeah. A um.. A cold one." Zoro rolled over and faced away from the cook.

"Just think of something gross. I'd rather not put aloe on you again," Zoro said. In all honesty, he was hurt. Sanji was staying the night in his bed, knew Zoro had feelings for him and started thinking about women enough to get hard while Zoro was showering from noises the cook made. How fucked up is that? "And Sanji?" Either way, he couldn't take it anymore. Sanji knows, so he can actually say stuff about that kind of thing now.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for liking you. I know this is all new to you and it changes things between us, but.. Please.. don't think about women when you're in my bed. I know I only left the letter, but.. I.. I do have feelings for you and shit like that hurts."

"What?" Sanji was baffled. Knowing himself well enough, he could guess why Zoro assumed he'd been thinking about women, but he was also wrong. "Zoro it's not like that."

"Then what Sanji? You've never thought about anything other than women. We both know that," Zoro said as he sat up and faced the cook. It was the sad truth.

"That's not true, you fucking idiot!" He was getting mad that Zoro wouldn't believe him. "Believe it or not, but women had nothing to do with it."

"What else could possibly turn you on?" Zoro asked, looking him dead in the eyes this time.

Sanji's face reddened as an image of Zoro's naked body flashed through his mind. What was he supposed to tell Zoro? What other alternative didn't involve women? It's not like he ever did get turned on by anything else anyway.

"Earlier.. when I came into the bathroom to get aloe." Twiddling his thumbs was helping a bit.

"Yeah? What about it?" Zoro had no idea where the cook could possibly be going with this.

"I kinda.. Maybe.." He tilted his head down, so his bangs covered his eyes and mumbled the rest. God, it was so embarrassing to admit, but what other choice did he have?

"You what? Fuck, speak up already!"

"I kinda.. um.. peeked at you in the shower."

* * *

 **A/N - Surprise b*itches! Early update! I know I literally just updated like 1-2 days ago, but I've been writing like nonstop since and have had like no writers block for this chapter, so here it is. I'm glad you guys like the last chapter too. That kinda worried me. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one too!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

M"You what?" Zoro couldn't believe his ears. He has to be dreaming.

"Dammit marimo! Don't make me say it again!" Sanji yelled and blushed deeply.

"You.. _That's_ why?" Zoro was starting to get happier and more excited.

"Y-yeah. I mean, I told you I wanted to try this. I wouldn't try it if I wasn't attracted to you." By now, Zoro was smiling ear to ear. He's dreamt about Sanji saying something like that for so long.

Wrapping his arms around Sanji, Zoro pulled the cook into his lap. His pale cheeks were redder than ever, still looking down at his boxers. His erection was still there, forming a small tent, but Zoro already knew, so there was no point in hiding  
felt a hand on his chin as Zoro tilted his head up. Their eyes met and their noses were nearly touching.

Zoro went for it. Slowly, he leaned forward to give the cook a chance to pull away. Instead, Sanji leaned in too. When their lips met, Sanji still pushed forward, feeling the swordsman's hesitation. Bringing his arms up around the green-haired man's neck,he  
brought Zoro closer to him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that he was kissing another man, but this time, he didn't want to pull away. This was Zoro.

When they pulled apart, the green-haired man locked eyes with the cook, smile still in place. Leaning his forehead against the blonde's, Zoro slid both hands up Sanji's thighs under the legs of his boxers.

"This isn't too much?" Zoro asked, worried the cook would change his mind after kissing a man.

"Not even close. It's okay if it's with you," Sanji stated honestly. It was his second time kissing another guy, but kissing Zoro was so different from being kissed by Ace.

Zoro couldn't have been happier. Sanji kissing him and accepting everything gave him confidence, enough to ask his next question.

"So, since you can't really shower, can I.." His face heated up with embarrassment. "C-can I h-help with.. it? It _is_ kinda my fault, even though you decided to be a peeping voyeur,"

"Shut it ass face."

"But I did accuse you of thinking about women," Zoro finished, ignoring Sanji's insult.

"Only if you want to. I don't want you to feel like you have to," he answered, trying his hardest not to let his embarrassment show.

"Do you really think I _wouldn't_ want to?" Zoro said, smiling and giggling a little. It made the cook smile a bit too, but no less nervous.

"O-Okay. Just.. don't laugh, okay? I've never done this before," he said blushing. This was where some of his own secrets were revealed.

"Well, I would hope so. I want to be the first man to do everything with you," Zoro said. It was the truth. That was all he really wanted.

Sanji hesitated though. Ace was his first kiss. Should he tell Zoro? He couldn't keep it from Zoro. Guilt filled him just at the _idea_ of hiding it from him. "A friend kinda beat you to one though." He watched as Zoro's face fell.

A million questions ran through his head. Did Sanji have sex with someone else while he was gone? A blowjob maybe? Maybe he _gave_ a blowjob?!

"This guy Ace kissed me at the bar. I didn't even expect it. He was kinda just.. there and then gone again before I could tell him no or push him off."

" **Ace** _kissed_ you?" A string of quiet curses and threats followed for a few minutes and Sanji was lost.

"You know him?"

"Neither of us will for much longer after I murder his sorry ass." Before Sanji could protest, Zoro sighed and started talking again, the anger draining from his expression. "But first, I need to take care of you." He removed his hands from Sanji's thighsand  
reached over to pull some lube out from the bottom drawer of the nightstand on his side of the bed. After squirting a small amount in his hand, he pulled Sanji's boxers down enough to show the cook's hard on and the blonde hairs just above hisballs.  
He wasn't sure if Sanji was ready to get fully naked in front of him after knowing his feelings, so this would have to do for now.

It had lessened a bit when they started talking about Ace, but he was still clearly hard. Sanji put his forehead on top of Zoro's shoulder, arms remained around his neck, still taking this all in. He hadn't told Zoro, but this wouldn't just be his first  
/handjob with a man. It would behis first one _ever._

When he watched Zoro's hand wrap around his base, he gasped, tightening his arms around the swordsman's neck as his dick stiffened completely in his hold. The cold of the lube startled him, but the warmth from the tan hand around him quickly warmed it.

"We'll have to wipe this off afterwards, but it'll feel better than with just my hand." Sanji took a deep breath as Zoro's hand began to slide up his shaft and back down.

And _god,_ did it feel good. A shudder went through his body and he pulled his arms back a bit to dig his nails into Zoro's shoulders, holding on with everything he had. Without realizing it, he'd also started thrusting into the swordsman's hand,  
/silently begging for him to go faster.

Zoro tightened his grip and sped up the pace a little when he noticed how the cook was reacting. Sanji moaned in his ear, reawakening his erection completely.

The cook looked up at Zoro as he pumped him faster and to his surprise, Sanji leaned in and kissed the swordsman hard, moaning into his mouth. Zoro thought this situation would be too much for Sanji, not the other way around.

Zoro separated their mouths and removed his hand. He looked into Sanji's blue eye, noticing the disappointment showing and his heavy breathing. The grip on his shoulders loosened, but he could feel the burn from where fingernails had been buried in hisskin.

"Sanji, watch the nails. _Please._ I really don't want to take another shower and if you get too into this, a shower won't be enough for me." The cook took the warning to heart. He'd put Zoro through enough, especially tonight. Slow in his motions,the  
cook nodded. If he needed to dig his nails into something, he could use his own thigh. All he wanted now was to be touched by Zoro again.

The swordsman knew Sanji understood and wrapped an arm around the cook's waist, pulling him closer so that his cock was touching Zoro's abs.

When the tip touched Zoro's skin, Sanji let out a deep growl. Upon noticing the sensitivity, Zoro wrapped his hand around the middle of the blonde's erection and used his thumb to play with the head. Sanji moaned and a surprising amount of pre cum escapedimmediately.  
He'd have to remember that for another day.

Turning his attention back to the entirety of Sanji's cock, he gripped it tightly and began to stroke him faster than he had earlier. Bones moved as the cook's back arched from the harsh pace and one hand vanished from his shoulder and nails were scratchingviolently  
at Sanji's own thigh.

" _Zo..roo.._ I-" stuttered the cook.

"It's okay. You can cum." Seeing Sanji on the edge and so incredibly turned on was killing him, but he knew he'd have to wait.

At Zoro's words, Sanji shuddered again and let himself go. He thrust into Zoro's hand and pulled them closer together. Vaguely, he also realized that his tip was rubbing up against swordsman's beautifully carved abs and it felt better than it should  
friction created made him cum, all over Zoro's hand and stomach. Silently, he whispered the swordsman's name as Zoro continued to milk him of the last of his seed.

"That feel better, shitty cook?" He hadn't missed the way Sanji pulled them closer and whispered his name as he came. There was also a surprising amount of cum on him. "Seriously curly. When was the last time you got _anything_? That was quickerthan  
I expected and this is a _lot_ ," he said, looking down at the white liquid he was covered in and soaking into his own boxers.

While Sanji had just experienced the most amazing high of his life, it was ruined when Zoro started talking. He felt insecure enough about his virginity, that was the first handjob of his life, and he rarely ever jerked off. Yet, Zoro managed to make  
/him feel more self conscious and upset. He felt the urge to cry, but didn't want to be so emotional. He wasn't a woman for fuck's sake.

"Never, you fucking dick," he said as he shoved the green-haired man away from him. He pulled his boxers up again and moved to sit on his side of the bed.

"Wait, what? You've _never_ had a handjob before? Is that what you meant earlier when you said you'd never done this before?" Zoro asked. How was that possible? All those women? At least _one_ had to be sex crazy.

"No. One girl forced her hand in my pants once, but that was it." That must've been the sex crazed one.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Zoro. "Sanji, how far have you ever even gotten with a girl?" he asked.

"I.." He paused. Now he really wanted to cry. "I started to finger Cami once, but she said it hurt, so I stopped. That's it," he admitted. God, he was so fucking embarrassed. Zoro had done everything in the book and here, he had done little more thankissing  
a girl.

Suddenly, he felt arms circle around his waist and Zoro's smooth chin was on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Sanji," he whispered. "I didn't mean to offend you. I didn't know." Zoro squeezed the cook tighter in his arms. "I'm glad though. This means I can be your first for everything," Lips on the cook's shoulder made him smile. It was obvious thatZoro  
had meant no harm.

"It's okay. Let's just get some sleep, alright? It's probably been a long day for you."

"Hold on curly brow. That swirl must be messing with your brain again," the swordsman said and chuckled.

"Oi! At least I have a brain!" He tried to elbow the green-haired man behind him, but Zoro moved quickly and climbed off the bed.

Sanji stared at that perky ass unashamedly as the mosshead walked towards the bathroom. He waited as the object of his most recent desires disappeared into the bathroom. The water started running, but he only saw Zoro when the man reached in the cupboards.

Confusion obviously covered his face as Zoro came back to the bedroom, washcloth in hand.

"Would you prefer me to do it or is it okay if I do it?" Zoro asked, holding the piece of wet cloth out to the blonde. Despite not knowing what was going on, Sanji took the washcloth and noticed it was warm. "C'mon, shitty cook. Don't tell me you forgotabout  
the mess we made out of you, Mr. Clean Freak," the swordsman said and smirked. "If you need a reminder, just look at my chest."

He glanced at it and two places on his body heated up. Seeing Zoro covered in his cum was hotter than he'd anticipated. Trying his best to ignore Zoro, the cook just turned around on the bed to wipe himself off without being under Zoro's watchful eye.

However, it didn't stop him.

The swordsman climbed onto the bed and wrapped himself around the blonde, legs slid around him so the blonde sat between his, arms around his waist and chin on his shoulder. Although, he did keep his back bent so his chest didn't come into contact withthe  
cook's back. After all, he still wasn't wiped off.

When the cook was done, he folded the cloth and passed it back to Zoro, feeling a bit guilty that the washcloth was actually pretty cold by now.

Zoro didn't worryas much about being clean as Sanji did, but if they were going to sleep in the same bed tonight, it was required to clean up the best he could in the dim lighting of the bedside lamp. Meticulously, he wiped up every spec he could  
see beforethrowing the washcloth across the room and towards the laundry hamper he had in the corner of his room, not knowing if he'd made it or not. The cook hadn't moved from between his legs and he smiled. Sanji was probably trying so hard  
to do this forhim. All about women his whole life and now, here's Zoro. Gay and in love with him and he's actually _trying_ this relationship _for him_.

Wrapping himself around the cook again, this time, he pulled them together. The cook not only leaned back against him, but he relaxed also, bringing a smile to Zoro's face.

"Sanji, thank you," he whispered and squeezed the man in a tighter hug. "For trying this with me. For allowing me to touch you the way I did tonight. For even _considering_ a relationship with a man for me." The thought brought a smile to his faceand  
he didn't notice the tear that slipped out until it reached his chin. "I just hope you know for sure that this is what you want. I- I just don't want you to back out or be afraid of this." Showing so much emotion wasn't like him, but hewanted  
/the cook to know. If this turned out bad, he had no idea what he'd do with himself. "Frankly, I'm scared," he admitted. A sniffle escaped him and he squeezed the cook tighter so he couldn't turn around. This would be a lot easier if he didn't have  
/to actually face the cook. "I'm scared that this is all just another dream. I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and you won't be here." Another tear ran down his face and landed on the cook's shoulder.

"Zoro." Sanji brought his hand up to Zoro's cheek, feeling the wetness there. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."

Neither said anything else. What was there to say? They stayed in that position for what felt like hours.

Eventually, Zoro's arms loosened on the cook's waist. He took his chance to turn and face his first boyfriend.

His gaze remained trained in his lap when Sanji turned.

The cook leaned in and began to kiss each part of Zoro's face, including his ears, working his way to the man's lips.

The light feather kisses got the swordsman to finally look up at the cook as their lips finally met.

"Let's go to bed, okay? I don't know how you've managed to stay awake this long. I didn't think moss was so active at night." Sanji dodged the smack aimed for his head and laughed before crawling under the covers.

Soon after, Zoro followed suit, latching onto the cook the first chance he got.

"Cook."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever mention what just happened, I will snap your neck where you stand."

"Oh? You mean how you cri-" The rest of his statement was muffled as Zoro put his hand over the cook's mouth. He moved his other hand to the back of the cook's heading, ready to follow through with his threat until Sanji held up a finger. Moving his hand,it  
gave Sanji enough room to speak.

"You said you'd snap it where I _stand._ If you haven't noticed, I'm not standing dumbass. So, therefore, you can't snap it anyway." He grinned like he had just gotten the world's best blackmail material.

And he just might have.

"Just go to sleep before I decide to suffocate you while you sleep, shitty cook." He rolled over in semi defeat, but Sanji followed him. He threw a leg over the swordsman's, his right arm over his stomach and tucked his left under the pillow with a headof  
green hair on top of it.

"Much better," the cook mumbled and nuzzled his face into Zoro's hair. Both men were content and smiling as sleep overtook them both.

* * *

"-oro. Hey. Mossy. Wake up!" Sanji got irritated and kicked Zoro in the ass as best he could from his laying position behind the marimo. He'd been trying to wake the man up for the last 10 minutes to tell him he needed to go to work. He had promised Zorohe  
would be here when he woke up, but he'd completely forgotten about work.

Zoro however, simply rolled over from the kick, scratching himself like he'd only been bitten by a bug. Sanji stared at him in anger until one eye cracked open and then the other. A wide grin followed and he knew he was already in trouble. In no time,Zoro's  
arm was around his waist and he shifted on top of Sanjiso he was holding himself above the cook on his left forearm. He leaned down to kiss the cook good morning and slid his right hand down to cup the cook's ass as he kissed him. As their lips  
met, Zorosqueezed tightly, causing a small moan to come from the cook. The swordsman dipped his tongue into the other's mouth, but not for long. Pulling away from the kiss, he gazed down at his new found boyfriend.

"Do you have any idea how adorable it is when you say things when you think I'm asleep?" Sanji turned red up to the tips of his ears. Zoro's hand disappeared from underneath him and he placed it next to the cook's head, balancing on both forearms beforehe  
let his body fall lightly against the cook's.

"You were awake you bastard?! And I was trying to be sweet about it! But your stupid ass doesn't know when to get up!" His outburst to try and justify his actions made Zoro smile. This is what he wanted to wake up to and see every day.

"What was it that you said? Oh yeah! ' _Zoro. Sweetheart. Wake up. Aww. He's so cute when he sleeps though. Damm-'"_ Sanji smacked Zoro in the back of the head as his face couldn't get more red. Zoro was quoting things he'd said to get the manto  
wake up at first. He wasn't sure if he'd said some of that stuff out loud, but now he could be sure.

"You bastard! Why couldn't you just wake up instead of pretending to be asleep?!" Sanji was so embarrassed and Zoro would let out a small chuckle every now and then. The cook was so fucking adorable when he was embarrassed.

"Because. If you'd known I was awake, you wouldn't have said more cute things like, ' _Fuck. I don't want to wake him up. I just want to kiss him to death.'_ Such dilemmas so early in the morning," Zoro laughed and pecked the cook on the lips again."I  
love it when you think out loud." He smiled down at his blushing cook.

"I-I-.. umm.. I need to go home, s-so I can go to work," Sanji said quietly, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I know you do, cook. Thanks for waking me up to tell me though. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No. It's okay. It's only a few minutes away, but you'd probably manage to get lost on the way back," the cook pointed out. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened.

"I would not!" he protested.

"And I don't want you to not be able to make it home and end up with frostbite on the street."

"It's not even that cold out!"

"I still don't want my boyfriend freezing his ass off on the street because he can't find his house," Sanji argued back. Zoro froze in place and he smiled. The smile reached his eyes and they shined with an emotion that the cook wasn't sure he could identify.  
/"What's the smile for?" He had just insulted Zoro's sense of direction a few times. What was there to smile about? Shouldn't he be insulting him back?

"You just called me your boyfriend." The blush came back to the cook's face again, but only lightly this time and he smiled too.

"I did, didn't I," he said, as if telling himself. His insides felt fuzzy at hearing it being said out loud. Reaching up, he wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck and pulled their bodies together in a tight hug as Zoro's arms slid straight up and stretchedout  
alongside his head.

They stayed like that under the blankets until the heat from the swordsman's body began to be overwhelming.

"Marimo. I need to get home and get ready for work." He pushed at Zoro's shoulders a bit, hoping he'd take the hint and get up. Instead though, he heard a muffled 'okay' next to his head and Zoro was wiggling his head down towards the cook's neck. Whenthe  
cook tried to push his head away, Zoro's left hand grabbed a handful of Sanji's blonde locks and tugged them in the opposite direction, making the cook tilt his head, giving Zoro access to his neck.

Taking his chance, he placed his lips against the cook's neck and began to suck on the skin there. He could feel Sanji's heartbeat pick up against his own chest and as he continued, the breathing near his ear sounded heavier. Zoro took a deep breath throughhis  
nose before giving a particularlyhard and harsh suck against the cook's neck, his mouth never leaving the spot and causing Sanji to let out a moan.

" _Zo-Zoro._ Wh-what are y-you doing?" Feeling satisfied at the amount of time he'd sucked, Zoro finally let go of the skin in his mouth. Sanji let out a deep sigh at the release and Zoro noticed something he hadn't felt while his mouth was on the  
/cook's neck.

"Well you seem to be wide awake, aren't you?" He smirked and shifted against the cook's erection poking into his thigh.

" _Hmm._ Zoro. Stop it. I don't have time to take care of.. _that._ I need to get to work. Why did you decide it was a good idea to suck on my neck anyway, asshole? Now I have to get rid of this quick or hide it for a few hours at work somehow."

"My bad. I didn't realize sucking on your neck turned you on so much. I'll have to do it more often." Lightly, Zoro ran his finger over the deep red mark that was already showing some purple spots.

"You still haven't answered my question of why."

"Because I know how much you get hit on at that damn restaurant. You're mine now and I want those customers to know it. They better back off once they see it." Zoro continued to look at the mark. It was bigger than his thumb, so there was no way someonecould  
miss it. It was also changing colors already, so he knew it would be a dark color and highly noticeable once Sanji finally reached work.

"Alright. Let me up now. You get some more sleep, okay?" Zoro rolled over back onto his side of the bed. Sanji stood up and kissed Zoro's cheek before grabbing his phone and headed for the bedroom door.

"Hey cook." Sanji stopped in the bedroom doorway and held the door open.

"Yeah?"

"Come back after work tonight? I need to talk to you about something and I have a little unfinished business down at Kamabakka Kingdom."

* * *

 **A/N - The long awaited chapter xD I'm sorry for the cliffhanger (not really xD) but I just had to do it. xD I tried to get this out as soon as possible. I had the majority of it typed, but for the last two days, I've been trying to figure out a way to end it. I woke up and had this great idea, so I wrote like 4 more pages this morning xD I hope this is sort of a cliffhanger at least. It's not as bad as the last one though. Anyway, I have ideas for chapter 9, so hopefully it won't take me too long to write. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I hope ya enjoyed this chapter xD**


	9. Chapter 9

When Zoro woke up again, it was around noon. The cook didn't get out for several hours. Instead of getting more sleep, he crawled from bed miserably, missing his cook.

He went through his regular morning routine of exercises, meditation, and a quick shower, wasting a good few hours.

His stomach growled and he was reminded of the fact that he hadn't eaten breakfast. Walking out to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, he noticed something on the counter. When he reached it, he knew it was the cook's doing. A note sat beside a giant lid covering something. He read the note first.

 _Don't even think I didn't know you were going to try having that gross cereal shit for breakfast. I made you something to eat instead. There is a fruit bowl in the fridge too._

 _P.S. DON'T RUIN MY DELICIOUS FOOD BY DROWNING IT IN THAT GROSS BROWN SHIT._

After setting the note aside, he lifted the lid to reveal a stack of surprisingly still warm pancakes. He could see chunks of something cooked into them, assuming it was bacon. He grabbed the fruit bowl from the fridge before taking his pancakes and some syrup to the table to eat, drenching the pancakes with the syrup. The cook would've killed him if he'd been there. While he ate, he contemplated what to do during his day.

He didn't really feel like staying at home today. The dojo was closed for Monday except for some night classes he wasn't involved with, so working at all was out of the question. With his free time, he decided to stop by and visit the cook and old man. After all, it'd been a few weeks.

Since Sanji would kill him if he showed up in what he was wearing, he decided to go change his clothes. Zoro ended up in a tight pair of white jeans, but they weren't tight enough to be uncomfortable. He would've picked the black ones if they weren't all dirty and Sanji didn't know it. For a shirt, he pulled out one of his fancy button up undershirts, just like the ones the cook had. His was light shade of green that matched his hair. He buttoned it up most of the way, leaving the top three undone in hopes it'd mess with the cook. Zoro rolled up the sleeves until they were halfway up his forearms. Last time, he could get it up to his elbows. Smiling, he realized he'd gained muscle within the last year or so because his biceps felt almost too tight in the shirt also. Part of him wanted to flex in the mirror like a high school freshman, but the other half, well, his rational side told him he'd end up buying more shirts if he did that. Just to please the cook, he put on low rise socks and wore a pair of green and white Chevron Oxfords that Sanji had bought him the year before as a joke because they reminded him of the man's hair. Grabbing a white fedora and essentials on his way out the door, he started heading in the direction he was pretty sure the Baratie was in.

On the way, he told himself he was doing this for the cook, but in the back of his mind, he may have just been doing this for the old man. They'd met plenty of times in the past, but this time, Zoro had the knowledge that he was dating the man's son. This time, he'd be meeting Zeff as a potential son in law. Zoro knew about dating Sanji, but he was sure Zeff would figure it out the moment he stepped in the doors and not because of the way he was dressed. The old man had confronted Zoro about a year ago about his feelings for the cook. It was right before he'd actually figured out what all the butterflies meant, but Zeff's confrontation helped because he spewed a bunch of bullshit about being in love. He wasn't gonna lie though; he ignored most of his speech, but the end of it was enough for him to understand.

' _I've seen the way you look at him, the look you get on your face when you're thinking about him and I'm okay with that. Just know that it'll only get harder for you both from here on out. The Eggplant should, but doesn't know it, but I'm here for you both, alright?'_

Afterwards, he'd rubbed Zoro's head gently and then started screaming at him. The old man just wanted him to know that he knew and it was okay.

All his thinking had him lost in his own mind until he looked up and the Baratie was in front of him. He grinned, knowing that for once, he didn't take a wrong turn.

Still grinning, he walked in and greeted the man at the front.

"Good afternoon Patty." He tipped his hat in the man's direction.

"You seem to be in a good mood. What the hell happened between you two?" he asked in a grouchy voice with a scowl on his face. It was only then that Zoro's grin wavered.

"Wha-"

"I got him Patty. C'mon Broccoli boy. Don't get lost. Your regular table by the kitchen is open," said Zeff. Zoro followed the man as he turned to take him to his table. "I was expecting you'd show up today."

"Why is that?"

"Well, the shitty eggplant has been in a better mood in the last hour than he has been in the last two weeks. I'm assuming that's your doing, along with that monster of a mark on his neck," Zeff said as they reached the table. Before he could sit down though, a pegged leg came at him and kicked him against the wall and he slid down the wall, falling into his seat. "You're also the shitty reason he tried to give himself alcohol poisoning."

"What?!" Zoro fixed his hat, trying to pretend the kick didn't hurt like hell. "When did he do that?"

"About a week and a half ago. He went through just about half of my entire stock of alcohol before going home, presumably to drink more alcohol because I had to cut him off." Zeff took a seat across from Zoro. "What the hell has been going on?" Zoro looked down at the table and explained everything. There was no way to hide it from the old man really. If Zoro wasn't the one to tell him, he'd find out somehow and it's not like he already didn't know how Zoro felt for his son. When he was finished, they sat together in relative silence.

"I see. So, you finally got him then. Congratulations, Celery. I take it that's why you tried to dress up too?" he asked.

Zoro tried to be a smartass about it and leaned back with a smirk adorning his face. "Part of it. This time, I'm meeting you as a possible son in law. Why shouldn't I get fancied up for the occasion?" They both chuckled a bit.

"Fine. Just be good to my eggplant, alright? I had to deal with him for about a week because of you and he looked like he was dragged through Hell by his ear when he left," Zeff said as he stood. They both knew there was a silent threat hidden in his words.

"You know I will, sir."

"Well be careful yourself. You know I care about you both and that Sanji can be a stubborn man and may not always be honest and open about the way he feels." Behind Zeff, Zoro spotted his blonde cook filling in for a waiter. He smiled at a female customer at a table full of women and it made Zoro smile too, especially when the girl's eyes flicked down to glance at the mark on the cook's neck.

"Yeah. I know, but for him, I'd deal with it. I love everything about him. Even his stubborn side." It was the first time he'd admitted to the chef that he loved his son. Sure, he didn't come out and flat out say it, but the old man nodded in understanding after following Zoro's gaze to the now laughing, fill in waiter.

"I'll put in an order for some sushi and sake."

"Thanks old man," Zoro said and ducked as the peg swung for his head this time before retreating into the kitchen. Zoro placed his hat on the table and sat in silence, waiting for his sake. Sanji had also long returned to the kitchen, so he had nothing interesting to occupy himself with. One waiter brought him the sake and stuttered as he spoke. The blush on the young man's face was evident, but he politely ignored it. He leaned back in his chair, watching the other customers until his food was set down in front of him and the waiter froze next to the table.

"Holy hot damn marimo. You clean up real well, even without me around. No wonder I heard all the waiter talk about a hot one at this table," Sanji said before taking a seat in the chair that his old man had occupied a little bit beforehand. "What brings you here? And what's with all the fancy clothes?" Zoro smiled at Sanji.

"Can I not want to see my boyfriend? I dressed up because I wanted to. Do I need another reason?" Zoro picked up the chopsticks and began to eat, not wanting to admit it was for Sanji. As always, the sushi was _perfect._ Another pair of chopsticks hovered over his plate before snatching the next piece between his sticks and plopping it down in the mouth of a sexy blonde across from him, who wiggled a stupid curled brow at him, making him laugh. Only then, did he notice that there was twice as much sushi as there usually was on his plate. Sanji had fully intended on sharing a plate with him. They spent the rest of the meal, fighting and stealing each other's pieces of sushi.

"I think we're even marimo," the cook said, staring at the empty plate.

"Probably."

"Next time you decide to look mouthwateringly sexy, let me know first so we can make plans to go out for dinner." Sanji's eyes trailed around the dining hall, not wanting to meet Zoro's as he proposed the first date idea. A lot of people were staring at them. Upon looking closer, the majority of them were staring at _Zoro_. That made the cook slightly angry.

"It probably won't happen again, cook. Part of the reason I dressed up was to see your father and I already talked to him," Zoro said as Sanji's head snapped around to look at him, stunned.

"What? Why did you talk to him? I'm not sure I'm ready to come out to him yet Zoro."

"Calm down cook. You don't need to 'come out to him'. He kinda already knew about us. Hell, he knew I loved you before I myself knew. He just came and talked to me about what made you want to try giving yourself alcohol poisoning, told me he approved of us and warned me again about how big of a pain in the ass you are," Zoro said. He really hadn't told the old man much that he didn't already know.

On the other side of the table, Sanji was stunned. His old man knew before both of them? And he approved? Finding out so much stuff at once was starting to take it's toll on him. He needed a cigarette.

"Oh," the cook said. He didn't know what else to say. He stood up beside the table, his fingers twitching with the need to feel a cigarette between them.

"You okay cook? I'm sorry I told him about what happened during the two weeks, if that's what it is. He already knew about everything else. I swear." Sanji smiled when he heard Zoro's worried voice.

"I know. It's okay," he said, looking down at his boyfriend. Sanji could see all those eyes watching their every move and it made his blood boil when he noticed others looking at Zoro's ass as the man stood up. He tried not to glare at some of the men for it. "I need to get back to work though. The food was on me, so don't worry about that either."

"I didn't plan on worrying about it anyway," Zoro said with a smirk.

"I'll see you tonight, alright?"

"Okay cook. Don't let the old man beat you up too bad," he said with a laugh as he turned to leave. Sanji's eye followed that ass outlined perfectly by those white pants as he made his way out the door. Unfortunately, so did a lot of other sets of eyes. He headed back to the kitchen, trying to ignore his feelings of jealousy and possessiveness.

* * *

After work, Sanji went back to Zoro's and they talked like Zoro asked. Zoro questioned him about everything that happened the night he met Ace. Needless to say, he was less than pleased.

Now, he found himself in front of the one place he was at a week ago.

Kamabakka Kingdom.

"You okay with this?" Zoro asked from the passenger seat. The cook had driven because Zoro would've gotten them lost.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? It's not my first time here. Besides, I have you with me this time," he said and smiled. And oh _god_. That smile made the swordsman's heart race violently in his chest and he felt the urge to kiss the man, but refrained. He was too paranoid about coming onto the cook too much, so he'd resolved to let the cook be the one to make the advances.

They both got out and headed towards the entrance. Both had different reactions and feelings when they made it inside the building.

Zoro was already growing a headache from the annoyingly, and surprisingly, loud club. Some nights, he could enjoy it, but not tonight. Tonight, he was just pissed off and tense. After he'd figured out what he felt for Sanji, he had needed somewhere to escape to and not stand out too much. On the rare occasion, he'd spend the night with someone and he didn't need any of his old conquests showing up. Not to mention, he'd actually managed to get pretty tipsy and done some memorable things while he was here.

Sanji on the other hand, stood inside the doorway, excited as ever. The first time he was here, he had one goal. Now that it had been accomplished, he had the chance to try out the dance floor and was eager to do just that.

But maybe not yet. Looking over at Zoro, the cook didn't miss his tense form and his eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought and some worry painting his features. Reaching over, he interlaced his fingers with Zoro's. The touch seemed to bring the man out of it and he looked at Sanji.

"Are _you_ okay with this?"

"Yeah. I just don't like to come here often. And I'm still pissed at Ace." Sanji lightly squeezed his hand and tugged him in the direction of the bar.

"Come on." He began to pull and walk. "A drink always helps, right?" Without much of a choice, Zoro followed. There were plenty of seats to choose from since people were soon crowding around the stage when the speakers came on, the man announcing Ace would be performing soon. He got the bartender's attention quick and ordered 'something strong' for himself and 'something fruity, fancy or girly' for the cook.

"I don't understand why so many people come to see him dance," Zoro said, just thinking out loud as he leaned against his arms on the bar.

"He's a good dancer. Plus, he does have a nice body," Sanji answered, facing towards the stage. Ace was dressed as a fireman tonight and the music was a modern upbeat song he couldn't place.

"I'll agree he has a nice body, but he's still pretty amateurish when it comes to dancing."

"How is he amateurish?!" Sanji said confused. "People come here on _Mondays_ to see him dance! That doesn't sound like amateur material to me!"

"Mondays are for open dance nights a.k.a any amateur that wants to. Ace just happens to be regular enough that he has built a reputation for himself. The ones who are _truly_ good at it are asked to dance on Thursdays."

"Can we come on Thursday then?" Sanji asked, turning his attention away from Ace and on Zoro. Their drinks arrived and he turned, copying Zoro's position before taste testing his "boozie chick cocktail". "Why the hell would you order me some chick cocktail you ass?"

"Why would you want to come on Thursday? If you wanna see a guy take off his clothes, just come over to my place. I'd be happy to help." Zoro smirked as Sanji tried to swallow his drink instead of choking on it. "And I ordered that because I only know you like the sweeter drinks unless it's wine." The music tapered off as Ace disappeared from the stage. Both men turned around to face the crowd to watch for the freckled man. Zoro moved a few seats away. When Ace spotted Zoro, there's no doubt the other would turn and run.

Sanji took his seat and propped his feet up on Zoro's so no one would think to take it. Soon after, Ace came over to the cook, smiling like crazy with open arms.

"Sanji! It's so good to see you again!"

"It won't be."

"What?" He stopped two steps away from the cook. Sanji pointed and Ace turned in time to see green hair and be greeted with a fist to his face.

The cook tried not to watch when Zoro punched Ace. Those fists were brutal. Behind him, he heard Marco the bartender speak up and say, "I told you," to Ace.

He sipped at his drink though as two security guards rushed over to drag Zoro out the door. He didn't fight back against them. "Wait!" Ace hollered from the floor. "It's fine. He's a friend and I deserved it. Just leave him be." They let go and one left immediately.

"Damn right you deserved it," Zoro grumbled angrily.

"Sorry Mr Roronoa. The job comes first," one of the guards said as he brushed off Zoro's clothing.

"It's fine, Bepo. I understand." _Now that was interesting_ , Sanji thought. _Why is Zoro all buddy buddy with a security guard?_ The man began to leave and all eyes were back on Ace, holding his bloody nose on the floor. The two just stared at each other, neither pulling their eyes away. It almost seemed like they were having a silent conversation.

Eventually, Zoro slowly approached Ace and offered his hand to help him up. With his non blood covered hand, Ace reached up and grabbed Zoro's forearm with his own in Zoro's. The green-haired man pulled and the freckled one was on his feet again. However, Zoro didn't let go and pulled Ace in close to him.

"You should be thankful. I thought it'd be too cruel to kiss the one you loved. And it's unfair to Sanji," he whispered to Ace before shoving him back a few steps.

From his place at the bar though, Sanji didn't hear a word. All he saw was Zoro whispering to Ace, the shove and Ace's pained face. He looked like Zoro had just punched him again.

"I'm sorry, okay? It was a bad choice and at the time, I'd been drinking and I didn't care about the consequences. I couldn't resist him while intoxicated. You sure know how to pick 'em." Ace sounded genuinely sorry and Zoro sighed. He couldn't be mad at Ace for long. He knew what it was like to look at the cook and want to kiss him. Sure, he resisted, but he wasn't sure he could stop himself if he was slightly over intoxicated either. Up until now, he's been lucky.

"I get it man. I just can't believe you fuckin' did that and grabbed him, no less." Oh _shit_. Sanji hadn't told Zoro about how Ace had him think about Zoro on stage.

"In my defense! He wasn't paying attention to anything around him and I tried to get his attention for 5 minutes straight, nearly screaming in his ear!" Zoro's face began to twist into one of confusion.

"What are you talking about? Curly just said you asked him something and grabbed him." Ace looked over at Sanji, whose face was covered in complete panic as he finished off his glass. Then, it turned into a murderous glare.

"Don't even think about it Ace."

"But Sanji! I owe him! Either way, I'm gonna end up dead in this situation!"

"Ace," they both said in unison. The freckled man looked between the two of them in panic.

"I TOLD HIM TO THINK ABOUT YOU ON STAGE AND HE ENDED UP ROCK HARD! I SWEAR I THOUGHT HE WAS EVEN GOING TO FINISH!" He screamed before looking at Sanji. "Sanji. Please don't kill me. I owed him for kissing you." Sanji stood up from his seat at the bar, holding the straw from his drink in his hand.

"You're dead," he said before jumping on Ace, pinning the man to the ground as he straddled his waist. Looking down at him, he began to speak again. "Any last words?"

"Sanji please. Think about this rationally. Think about all the blood you'll have to clean up after I'm dead and how much trouble you'll be in," Ace said, trying to postpone his death for as long as possible.

"I.. Don't.. CARE!" Sanji screamed as he brought the straw down towards Ace's throat. Somehow, the man managed to move his top half to the side enough that the straw ended up buried three inches into the floorboards next to his head. Ace shuddered at the idea of how it would've felt if that was in his throat. Putting his hand against his throat for protection, he gulped before flailing around underneath the cook. It threw him off enough for Ace to get his footing and turn, disappearing into the crowd.

The swordsman could only stand there and watch with his mouth hanging open as Sanji hastily followed Ace through the crowd. Zoro sat down at the bar and drank the mojito he'd ordered earlier that night. Inside, he was jumping with joy. Sanji has gotten hard because of him at least twice.

He continued to drink mojitos, even after Sanji came back with clean hands. They both drank the night away, ordering drink after drink, Sanji trying different drinks every now and then until he tried Zoro's mojito. He switched over to that too when he felt the urge.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Don't go anywhere mosshead. I'm in no condition to find you if you get lost," he said as he tried to stand up. He stumbled slightly and used the bar to catch himself as Zoro laughed.

"Can you make it there shit cook or do I need to walk you there and hold it for you?"

"Zoro, you don't need an excuse to hold it. If you want to, just ask." He smirked over his shoulder at the swordsman before heading toward the bathroom. Everything seemed to tilt back and forth as he walked, but he made it eventually. Leaning against the wall between the men's and women's restrooms, he took a short breather. As he stood there, he thought he saw a flash of green from the corner of his eye. Standing up straight, he looked at the wall he was leaning against.

It turned out to actually be a thumbtack board with pictures of memories and events from the bar. Finding the picture he noticed earlier, he pulled it off the board to get a closer look at it.

The man in the picture wore tight black assless chaps to show tan mounds of muscle. He had some cowboy boots on and a cowboy hat and a lasso in one hand. The other hand was on his ass as he looked over his shoulder. The man was licking his lips at the camera with the most seductive and sensual look on his face that would send shivers down your spine and an erection in your pants, which Sanji certainly had now. The entirety of this man seemed too familiar and Sanji focused more on the face of the man, willing away the blurring that hadn't allowed him to see the rest of the face sooner.

When his vision clear, his erection was harder than ever.

 _Was that really Zoro?!_

* * *

 **A/N - I'm on a roll with all these chapters man. xD Anyone see the hint hint pairing? xD My friend is telling me to do a story with them too. Let me know xD  
**

 **Pajamaz** **\- I hope you enjoyed that xD**

 **Guest-** **I have no comment** **on that xD ;)**

 **Agentsofshield35** **\- I'm sorry! I'm** **not positive what you're looking for. I don't really write in first person and if I do. I'll probably write an entire story in first person between one or two people because I don't like switching views too much. It's confusing for me and makes me feel unorganized. This chapter has some more of Zoro in it though. I hope that's okay. I'm sorry though.. :(**


	10. Chapter 10

"Ace. Ace! ACE!" Sanji screamed as he ran back from the bathroom. It was impressive that he managed to stay on two feet while running with how wobbly he was on his way there. "ACE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Sanji! I'm down here!" Ace said, standing up on the bar to get Sanji's attention. He wasn't too far from Zoro. They were both well beyond what their drinking capacity was. Marco was holding onto Ace's arm, trying to convince him to get down as he waved at the cook over the crowd of people between them.

Sanji pushed his way through the slowly dispersing crowd before he was standing next to Zoro again peering up at Ace on the bar a few feet away.

"ACE. GET OVER HERE NOW!"

"Jesus! Stop screaming, Curly! Did you make it to the bathroom, okay?"

"AND YOU!" he shouted and pointed at Zoro, "Shut your whore mouth," he said and pushed his finger against Zoro's lips.

The swordsman crossed his eyes and raised an eyebrow in confusion, trying to follow the finger. The cook was way past tipsy and he wasn't sure if the blonde would remember this tomorrow.

Sanji's eyes followed the finger too and he stared at the mouth his finger was pressed against. Those lips seemed oddly alluring and plump when they conformed around his finger from the pressure his finger put in the middle. He pulled his finger away slowly, still watching those lips. Licking his lips, he leaned in and replaced his finger with his own mouth. Zoro tilted his head and brought his hand up to rest on the back of Sanji's neck. It felt so good to kiss the cook again. Tentatively, the cook's tongue poked at Zoro's lips. Zoro opened his mouth a bit and Sanji led the kiss, using his tongue to play with and curl it around Zoro's own.

"Hey." They pulled apart and looked at the freckled man, now sitting in the chair next to them. "I hate to be the one to break up the love fest, but what the hell were you screaming about Sanji?" Suddenly, everything about Sanji's mood changed. He literally jumped in the air before answering Ace.

"ACE. I WILL PAY YOU $200 TO GO STEAL THIS OUTFIT FROM THE BACK FOR ME!" He moved over and stood next to Ace with the back of the photo facing Zoro before holding it up to show Ace discreetly without anyone else seeing it.

"Oh hell yeah. I'll steal that for you. Now I see why you have a hard on. I want half now." Sanji ripped out his wallet so fast, Zoro was worried he was going snap his wrist. _And why the hell would Sanji have a hard on from a picture?_

"Cook! Think about this. I'm sure some stupid outfit isn't worth $200," Zoro said. Sanji was gonna hate waking up the next morning with that much missing from his wallet. Enough would already be gone from all the drinks they'd been paying for.

Sanji ignored him, handed over a hundred dollar bill, and Ace took off towards the stage before he finally acknowledged the green-haired man again.

"I would've paid more than $200 for that outfit, but I knew it'd be enough for him."

"Jesus christ, cook. What stupid shit is worth that much?" he asked, attempting to grab for the photo. Sanji dodged the hand with a step back and held it to his chest.

"No. I'm not gonna let go of this. Ever," he said, trying to hide behind the chair next to Zoro.

"Come on, shitty cook. Just let me see it!" The swordsman stepped around the chairs between them and went for the picture again. Sanji dodged and used those powerful legs of his to jump onto the bar. Squatting there as he held the photo in one hand and the edge of the bar in the other for balance, he stared at Zoro with a deadly look in his eye before tucking it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

"This. Is. Mine," he growled at the swordsman like a rabid dog.

"Did you… Did you just growl at me?" Zoro asked. It was oddly arousing.

"You're not getting the picture," he said and pushed it tighter to his chest.

"Dammit you shitty cook! It's just a shitty picture! Just let me see it and get off the damn bar!" Zoro said and reached out towards the cook. He tried to run down the bar, but the alcohol was too much for him to balance and get away fast enough at the same time, so Zoro was able to catch his pant leg. Sanji fell down and lay across the bar before rolling on his back. He glared down at the man holding his pants. Using both hands, Zoro began to pull Sanji across the bar by his pants. Without hesitation, Sanji frantically started to unbuckle his belt and unbutton them, trying to get them off, so Zoro couldn't get to him.

When the green-haired man noticed what Sanji was trying to do, he let go of the man's leg.

"COOK! KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!" He blushed when he noticed the still present slight bulge in the cook's pants that he had heard Ace mention earlier.

The cook stopped and looked down at Zoro until he felt someone nearby. Looking up again, he noticed Marco washing the bar from all the sticky spilled alcohol from the night.

"Marco! Reason with him! Please! Tell him to just give me the picture and get off the bar," Zoro said, hoping Marco would come to his rescue. Instead, he turned to Sanji.

"Can I see the picture that you refuse to show him?" Marco asked. Sanji thought about it for a moment before sitting cross legged in front of Marco and looking around for others who might be watching.

"Only because you're my friend and you're really nice," he said. "Unlike that idiot swordsman over there." He glared over his shoulder at Zoro and the swordsman returned it. Sanji turned away before sliding the picture out of his jacket and checking for spectators again. Slowly, he turned the picture around to show Marco, whose eyes widened in surprise at first and then raised his eyebrows. Marco turned to Zoro and gave him a sorrowful and sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, but it's probably not the best choice to take that picture from him. I can't help you," Marco said before turning back to finish cleaning the bar. Sanji turned and stuck his tongue out at Zoro after tucking the picture safely back in his pocket.

"ACE! Did you get it?!" Sanji hollered and his face lit up like a child on Christmas.

"Yeah I did. Why are you on the bar?" Ace asked as he approached.

"He won't let me see the picture," Zoro said sadly and sat in his chair again.

Sanji handed the rest of the money over and reached for the bag Ace was carrying, but the freckled man jerked it away.

"Oh, come on Sanji. The poor guy. Just show him the picture already. I'm not handing over the bag until you show him." Sanji pouted before pulling it out to gaze at it again. Checking to see if anyone was behind Zoro, he noticed there were a few people. He scooted across the bar until he sat in front of the swordsman and dangled both legs on either side of the man.

"First, you have to promise that I get to keep it no matter what," Sanji said as he narrowed his eyes at Zoro and booped him on the nose with his index finger.

"Fine! Just show me already!" Zoro said. He just wanted to see the picture. Sanji's grin widened as he slowly turned the picture around to see Zoro's face covered in a deep red blush. "God dammit cook," he said, shaking his head. To think, he'd started to get jealous over a picture of himself. "You can keep it. Jesus christ. I can't believe you saw that. I completely forgot they even had it up."

"Well, it's not up anymore. I don't want anyone else seeing it, but me!" Sanji declared with a determined look on his face as he tucked the picture back in his jacket, making Zoro laugh a little bit.

"Alright. Come on, cook. Let's get home. You're pretty damn drunk and gonna have one helluva hangover tomorrow." He stepped back from the bar to give the cook room to get down. However, Sanji sat there and held out his arms towards Zoro.

"Carry me," he said. They both stood there in silence, deciding what to do. Zoro didn't know how Sanji expected him to carry him, but he chose to simply wrap his arms around the cook's knees and throw him over his shoulder. Sanji dangled there, slightly light headed and dizzy from the movement.

"Zooorrrrrooooo. That wasn't.." He paused for a second. "Oh." Ace, who watched all this happen from next to Zoro and slightly behind him, began to laugh as he saw the determined expression on the cook's face as he began to wiggle and stretch his arms farther down Zoro's back.

The swordsman's eyebrows only scrunched up in confusion when he heard Ace laugh and turned to give his friend a inquisitive look.

"What is he-"

"BOOTY!" Sanji shouted as grabbed and squeezed Zoro's butt to the best of his ability in his drunken state. He kept squeezing and began to chant, "booty, booty, booty," over and over again, each time he squeezed.

"SANJI. STOP THAT," Zoro said, blushing madly. "Marco. Keys, please. I know he gave them to you earlier and you both know I'm fine to drive home. We'll get there eventually at least," he said as Marco produced the keys. Sanji squeezed again and Ace laughed. "SANJI. WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" he managed to growl out.

"But," he started in a saddened voice before sniffling a few times. "Booty.." he said sadly and began rubbing Zoro's cheeks in slow circles instead. Zoro sighed deeply.

"Yes. It's mine. That's why you need to stop," he said as he grabbed the bag, which Ace didn't miss for a second.

"No! It's MY booty! You're MY boyfriend! Therefore, this is also MY booty!" he shouted before grabbing it again and smacking it once for emphasis.

"Hey, Zoro," Ace said. "Can I try something?"

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever it is, hurry it up. I want to go to bed." He was too tired and the fuzziness in the bottom of his stomach from the alcohol made him feel content.

"Hey Sanji," Ace said causing said man to put both hands firmly on Zoro's butt and look at Ace. "That's a nice butt. Can I touch it once?"

Over his shoulder, Zoro heard that feral growl again and had to suppress a shiver.

"Only if you want to lose a finger or two," the cook said as he looked at Ace. His head was tilted forward enough that his bangs covered both eyes and people nearby shied away from the menacing aura now coming from the cook. His teeth were clenched together, ready to snap at any second.

"O-o-oh. Suddenly, I don't want to touch it anymore," he said, taking a few steps back.

Zoro was trying not to be too giddy about Sanji's reaction.

"Thanks guys," he said to Marco and Ace, who had to suppress their amusement to say goodbye, before turning to leave.

As he walked, Sanji's hands stopped groping and just laid lightly against his ass. From where Ace was standing, he could see the drool beginning to drop out of the cook's mouth as he watched Zoro's ass move in the tight pants he wore tonight and he laughed. Those two were both lucky to have each other.

* * *

It was late in the night when Zoro got a phone call. Late, as in, four in the morning. He'd only been asleep for about two hours at best.

"Hello?" he answered, still trying to rub a little bit of sleep from his eyes.

"Z-zoro." On the other end of the call, Ace sniffled and wiped the snot running out of his nose. The walk over had been a chilly one, making his nose worse. "I'm outside. I know you're with Sanji, but p-please."

At the sound of his sniffling and sad tone, Zoro slid out of bed, careful not to wake the cook as he pulled the man's limbs off of him.

"What's going on Ace?" Quickly, he rushed to the door, waiting for an answer.

"I-it-" Suddenly, Ace burst into tears and Zoro finally got the front door opened. Ace was standing there, frantically digging the heels of his hands into his eyes as he cried more.

Zoro placed a hand on Ace's back before ushering the man into his apartment and locking the door behind them. Ace continued to cry as he was led over to the couch and they both sat down on it.

"Ace. What's going on?"

"M-mm-m-Marco!" he stuttered out and cried harder, leaning into Zoro as the man put an arm around his shoulders and began to rub his back. _Oh god,_ Zoro thought. It was bad.

"Shhh. It's okay man. You up for telling me what happened? You want a drink first? Don't forget, Sanji is still sleeping too."

"Sorry. Yeah. I'll take a drink," he said, trying his hardest to stop crying. The mention of Sanji gave him a chance to turn his mind away from Marco. Zoro stood and hurried to the kitchen to get the freckled man a hard drink. "So, how is it going with him? Did you two finally get it on once you got back here?" Ace chuckled as Zoro came back from the kitchen with some whiskey and two cups in his hand.

"You should know well enough that I'm not like that," Zoro said as he sat down and filled their cups.

"I know. If you were, it wouldn't have taken you this long to get with him," Ace said as he downed the full glass and grabbed the neck of the bottle instead. He took a large swig of it.

"Enough with the misdirection 'cause it's not working," Zoro said as he finished his own and held out his glass to be refilled. The pyromaniac did and then gazed down at the bottle and ran his fingers along the side, not feeling in the mood to make eye contact.

"He.. he left with someone else tonight," he said quickly before drinking another swig quickly, eager for more. "After the bar closed, another guy came in. I told him the place was closed, but he said he knew someone and told us to just tell Marco, Thatch was there to see him. You should've seen the way he brightened up at the name," Ace said, as tears began to run down his cheeks again and he hugged to bottle close to him. "We would usually walk home together, since we both live only a few minutes from the place, but he said he was going to go to the other guy's house, so I came here. Zoro, it hurts so bad," he balled and curled up against the green-haired man again. "How could you do this for a whole year with Sanji? It feels like I'm slowly dying inside." Zoro hugged the man close as he cried. Ace tried to drink more, but the bottle was torn from his grip.

"The cook already tried to give himself alcohol poisoning because of me. I'm not letting you do the same. I know hurts, Ace. It'll get better. Trust me," Zoro said as he shushed the man again. He brought one hand up and ran his hand through Ace's hair, knowing it calms him down and puts him to sleep. After some of the treatment, sniffling and tears turned into deep snores. He laid the other down on the couch. Knowing he was a heavy sleeper, there was no need to be super careful. Finding a blanket from the closet in the hallway, he brought it back to the couch and covered up Ace and tucked one of the couch pillows under his head.

Picking up the liquor, he took care of it, but made sure to have a drink or two before putting it away completely. He couldn't see Marco leaving with another man. Within the 6 months that he was actually going to the bar as a regular, he grew close with some people there. Ace and Marco were both considered some of his closest friends now including a few others. They both loved each other, but not knowing the other loved them.

So, was this Thatch guy just an old friend? Ex-lover who needed help? Zoro never really took the position to step in. Sure, if one asked for advice, he'd encourage them to make an advance towards the other man, but it wasn't his place to tell them how they felt about each other.

This though, something needed to be done about this. Ace had to do something after tonight. Even if it was only finding out who this 'Thatch' guy was.

Reluctantly, Zoro took care of the alcohol and headed back to his bedroom. He came back to his bed to see Sanji squeezing the swordsman's pillow in a death grip with a confused expression on his face, as if he knew it wasn't the swordsman himself. Zoro let himself smile at the sight before yanking the pillow out of Sanji's arm, which momentarily woke the cook.

"Mmm," he grumbled. "Zoro? Everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Ace is just staying the night. Go back to sleep," Zoro said as he squeezed into his spot and the cook's arms and a leg, wrapped around him again.

The cook hummed before soft snores could be heard from him. It didn't take long for Zoro to follow suit.

* * *

The next time Zoro woke up, he woke up to the sounds of retching and dry heaving. Hurriedly, he shoved the covers off himself and jogged out to the kitchen to get a glass of water, willing away the black spots invading his vision from standing up too quick.

He filled up a glass and took it back to the bathroom attached to his bedroom. He tried to open it, but found it to be locked. Zoro knocked loud enough to be heard over the heaving.

"No. Just le-" Sanji's voice was cut off before it was followed by more dry heaving and a few hard coughs. "Let me die in here," he said once his throat was cleared enough. His voice still sounded raspy like he'd just chain smoked an entire carton of cigarettes.

"C'mon cook. Unlock the damn door. I brought you some water," he said, hoping that would be enough. Usually, with the cook, it was. The man's poor throat had to deal with cigarettes on a regular basis and on hangover days, burning alcohol and stomach acid, depending on what he'd had the day before. Sanji could never handle the taste in his mouth for very long either.

As he expected, Zoro heard shuffling on the other side of the door, followed by the click of the lock. Opening it slowly, he saw the cook's arm draped around the side of the toilet seat, his head resting on the same arm, hair an absolute rat's nest. He was practically hugging the toilet bowl in his boxers. "You look like shit."

"No shi-" he began hurling into the toilet again, one arm wrapping around the porcelain while the other tried to hold his own hair back. Zoro waited until he was done before squatting down to hand Sanji the glass. The cook took it happily and rinsed out his mouth before taking a small sip of the refreshing drink.

While Sanji was trying not to vomit again, Zoro open the cabinet next to the mirror and rummaged around for a minute. When he found a bottle and a hair tie, he dumped two large white pills into his hand before putting the bottle back and shut the cabinet. The cook hadn't thrown up in that period of time, so hopefully, he wouldn't have to again. He knelt by the cook and handed him the pills.

"Here. Take these when you don't think you're gonna throw up anymore. Chopper gave them to me when I started to actually drown my liver in-" He shook his head, trying not to keep going where he was headed with that sentence. "Never mind. Just take them at some point." He grabbed the cook's waist and slid him closer to himself, so he was behind him, making the man groan at the action. "Oh shush. You did this to yourself," he said as he snatched Sanji's hair brush off the sink. Trying his best, he brushed out enough of the knots in Sanji's hair and put his hair up in a ponytail, including his bangs. He would've tried a bun, but those things looked too complicated.

"Thanks marimo," Sanji grumbled as he leaned back against Zoro's naked and broad chest. And he meant it. It probably reeked in the bathroom and Zoro was still in here with him. This did happen on the rare occasion though. However, Sanji would drink at Zoro's (since he ALWAYS had alcohol on hand) and would only get super tipsy and not end up with a hangover.

"It's not a problem. Want me to call into work for you?"

Shit. Sanji forgot about work. Zeff was going to kill him. He'd already missed a few days the week before. There was no doubt that he was in no shape to work today though. If he wasn't puking, he could handle it; he has before, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time.

"Would you?" Sanji asked as he looked up at Zoro.

Zoro chuckled a bit at the sight of Sanji's pleading puppy dog eyes with those irregular curled eyebrows. Without thinking about it, he leaned down and placed a kiss on each exposed eyebrow. "Yeah. I'll just tell him the truth."

Sanji grumbled and groaned in response, probably arguing, but Zoro ignored it. He moved away from the cook when he was sure the man wouldn't fall backwards. He found Sanji's phone on the nightstand.

"What's your password?" he hollered at Sanji from the bedroom.

"6264," he said as loud as he could from the bathroom.

"Really? 'Nami'?" Zoro said to himself. That cook was unbelievable sometimes. The lengths he went to for that witch..

The phone started ringing as soon as he found 'Old Geezer' in the contacts and called.

"What the hell do you want shitty Eggplant?" The old man answered right away.

"Sorry to disappoint. I'm not the shitty cook, but I called to tell you he isn't coming into work today," Zoro said. He pulled the phone away from his ear to avoid the expected screaming of curse words. When it stopped, he took the chance to answer, assuming what the old man asked at the end of curses. "He's fine. He just has a hangover and he's been puking for a while now." He pulled the phone away again. He could still clearly hear all the curses the old man was saying about his adopted son. "Yeah. I'll take care of him. Bye." He hung up before listening to the third set of curse words.

Even though the cook wasn't feeling well, he was still going to fuck with him a bit. If he was asked, he would completely deny that he was jealous of the way Sanji treated Nami sometimes. Quickly, he changed the man's password and went back to the bathroom to check on the cook.

The cook was in a similar position to what he was in before Zoro walked in that morning.

"Still pukin'?"

"Not really. I think I'm all out for now. What did the old geezer say?" Sanji asked as he sat up and shifted away from the toilet.

"He said he's glad it's nothing serious, told me to take care of you and said he hopes you feel better soon." Sanji gave him the most flat look possible.

"Bullshit. What did he say?"

"You and I both know that's essentially what he said under all the swear words he spit out." Grabbing the trash can next to the toilet, Zoro emptied it in the kitchen trash before putting two bags in it. "Here," he said while handing it to Sanji. "Let's get you back to bed. You need to sleep this off."

"Wait!" Sanji shouted after Zoro picked him up off the floor and tried to shuffle him out the door. He snatched up the toothpaste and spread some on the first toothbrush he grabbed.

"Cook! That's my-.. toothbrush.." Zoro trailed off. It was too late now. The cook already had it in his mouth. Sanji grinned at him around the toothbrush and finished brushing his teeth. "You couldn't at least use your own?" he asked, pointing to the toothbrush that had been right next to his. He shook his head side to side in response, grin still in place as Zoro glared at him. "I hope you choke on that toothbrush." Sanji spit out the toothpaste in his mouth and rinsed out his mouth before the sly grin came back as he looked at Zoro.

"I'm sorry. What part of 'no gag reflex' don't you understand? Need a demonstration?" he said, winking at the swordsman. Despite being hungover, he could still mess with Zoro a bit. There was always time to mess with him.

Zoro's face heated up at the cook's antics and he got lost in his own little world, trying to imagine exactly that. Sanji down on his knees in front of him, taking his entire cock into his mouth, thinking about the cook's tight throat around his head. Oh, fuck. What he wouldn't give to fuck that pretty little mouth.

He was pulled from his world when Sanji began smacking his hands lightly against Zoro's cheeks.

"What? Did you say something?" Zoro asked, which made the man chuckle.

"Yeah. I said move your ass, so I can go back to bed. _That_ ," he said pointing down, "is your problem to take care of though." He grabbed the glass of water and the trash can and slipped past Zoro, their chests touching lightly and Zoro's new found 'problem' touching the cook a bit. The pleasured feeling was what made Zoro notice his 'problem' and what the cook had referred to as ' _that'._

He cursed before shutting the door and taking a quick and cold shower.

Afterwards, he snuck out of the bedroom in just boxers again, hearing the snores from the cook and went to make some coffee in the kitchen. When he got there, Ace was already standing in the kitchen, sipping, probably spiked, coffee, if the bottle of Kahlua on the counter was anything to go by.

This seemed like a good time to tell Ace what he'd come up with the night before. He wasn't one to beat around the bush either.

"Ace. You need to talk to him."

"I don't know if I can."

"I know you can. You need to find out who Thatch was at least. Maybe he isn't who you thought he was," Zoro said. "Marco is an honest guy. If you just ask who Thatch is, he'll be up front about it. We both know that." Ace remained silent as he finished his coffee and put the cup in the sink.

"Maybe you're right. Tch. I _hope_ you're right. Thanks for last night and this morning Zoro. I'll see you later," he said and headed towards the door.

"Keep me updated, alright?" Ace nodded before slipping out the door.

* * *

 **A/N - I'm sorry it's been so long! This chapter I'm not sure I'm all that proud of after the bar scene. It's somewhat of a filler chapter.**

 **Also, for those who are also waiting for the next chapter of 50 Shades, I'm so sorry. :( 50 Shades is getting harder and harder for me to write. I have like major writer's block with it, so occasionally, I'll write a bit, but then I'll get stuck again.** **I'm only about halfway through the next chapter for 50 Shades though.  
**

 **cassy1994-** **I hope this answer** **ed your questions about Ace :)**

 **Guest-** **We** **'ll see what happens. xD Trust me.. I have lots in store for the rest of the story. *evil laughter***

 **Pajamaz-** **I didn't mention it in th** **is chapter, but it will be in the begin** **ning of the next.**

 **Agentsofshield35-** **You're welcome! I'm** **glad you li** **ke it. & Thank you!**

 **For all of you, thanks for reading & reviewing! It helps me a lot more than you'd ever believe to see your reviews! **


	11. Chapter 11

About a week had gone by since Sanji's hangover incident. Zoro and Sanji had both gone back to work, which is where Sanji seemed to catch himself thinking about Zoro more and more, especially after he'd discovered that picture a week before and asked Zoro about it.

" _When was this even? Since when do you dance? Almost naked at that?! Did you use to dance on Tuesdays?! God, I wish I could've been there to see this.." Sanji mumbled the last sentence as he gazed at the picture in his hands. After eating some, he'd felt a lot better, but chose to stay lying in bed, questioning Zoro._

" _I told you last night that it was a long time ago. Probably right around when I first met Ace. And I've always danced. You just never asked and we never went anywhere that required it. Yes, I did dance there on Tuesdays, but that night was actually a Thursday.. I was pretty far gone that night. You had stayed the night at Cami's and you were so excited, but that- it hurt to know that, so I went down there to relieve some stress. I got really messed up and they asked me to dance on stage, so I did," Zoro finished. He began to play with a loose piece of string on the comforter as he talked._

 _When he was done, Sanji just stared at him, feeling his heart tightening in his chest. He remembered that night. He was so excited to stay with her that he had even called Zoro and told him he thought he was finally going to lose his virginity. It was the same night he had started to finger Cami. While he was happy and excited to go even that far with her, Zoro was at the bar drinking away his heartbreak. He tried his hardest to change the subject._

" _So how did that handprint I saw earlier get on your ass?" he asked, feeling a little upset that someone touched Zoro like that. Zoro smirked._

" _Oh don't remember? That was you."_

Sanji's face heated up a the memory. Zoro had told him how wasted he'd gotten that night, but the hangover was worth it. He got his hands on that outfit.

Smiling deviously to himself, he finished preparing the meals he was making to be delivered to those in the restaurant. He couldn't wait to convince Zoro to get into that.

* * *

After work, Zoro had some free time. He changed into his workout clothes that he had in his locker at the dojo. He was always up for a run. This time, he was hoping to run to the gym.

With his headphones in and music playing, he lost track of time and just began to run. Eventually, he did reach the gym, but it was later than he'd hoped. He got out of work around three, but didn't make it to the gym (which was supposedly 10 minutes away) until around 5:30. He shrugged it off though. More working out never hurt anybody. Well, it probably did _somebody,_ but never him.

He entered the gym and got lost in his working out and music again. Time seemed to fly by. It made him feel all the more at peace. Now, he didn't have as much to stress about. Sanji was his. He didn't have to come here to force stupid ideas or feelings (usually jealousy) out of his own head.

Finally at peace, he hadn't noticed how long he was there until his phone died. He hadn't noticed that the gym was pretty much empty either. Looking outside, the sun had gone down and saw the time on the clock on the wall.

10:23.

The Baratie closes at 10 on the weekdays. Sanji was probably done with work and who knows how many times he's probably tried to call Zoro, but the signal here was shit.

After tucking his phone and headphones into his pocket, he hurried to shower and change. The cook never freaked out before if, on the rare occasion, he lost contact with Zoro, but since they started dating, he wasn't sure how Sanji would react this time. When he was ready to leave, he was about to open the door when he realized, while he was changing, it had started to downpour.

Great.

Just what he needed.

He stood in the doorway trying to pick a direction he thought home was in. He thought he had picked the right way. At least until he ended up in the slums on the other side of town.

Homeless men, women and children huddled together in every alley way, under torn awnings or cardboard boxes, struggling to keep out of the rain. He couldn't help, but think of how Sanji would react to seeing people live like this.

He turned around and went back in the direction he'd come from. When he'd reached some sturdier buildings and cleaner streets, he figured he was getting closer to home. It was still raining, but it was lighter and the hood on his sweatshirt was soaked to the point that there was no reason to keep it up anymore. Zoro hurried along, mumbling to himself about which way to go until he heard a noise. It sounded familiar, but it wasn't something he'd heard very often. Glancing around, he could tell that no one was in sight. However, there was a suspicious looking box sitting under a light post. It came up to about his knee, even caving in a bit from the rain. The lid was shut, but the rain had pushed the lid into the box, making it pointless, like his hood. Shuffling over, he could hear the sounds get a bit louder as he got closer. It sounded like some kind of screeching noise in desperation.

He wasn't scared. Nope. Not scared. Maybe a little tense, but not scared.

He peered into the box and was startled with what he found.

A mother cat and four kittens were in the bottom of the box. All were jet black except for two that had a few small white spots on their tail or toes. All were soaked to their scrawny ribs and bones showing through the little patches of fur that they had where some places were actually bald. The mother was soaked the most, trying to protect them from the rain. All were meowing for help, except one. One stayed where it was, laying in the corner of the box, unmoving. It took Zoro a minute to realize that the kitten was dead.

His heart clenched at the sight. Who could do something like this to helpless little creatures? The box was too tall for them to escape, even with it being warped. If it was small enough that they could get out, they could've at least had a chance at survival, but no. Someone cut them off from everything and left them here to either die or someone else to take responsibility.

Well, that someone might as well be him. Taking off his hoodie, he laid it over the top of the box to stop more rain from getting in. He bent down and picked up the box, holding the side with the mother and other kittens towards his now shirtless chest. Hopefully, he could give off some body heat to warm them up.

He hurried down the street, hoping the other three kittens and the mother would survive and hoping Sanji wouldn't kill him when he reached the apartments.

* * *

Sanji was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He hadn't heard from Zoro all day. Even before they dated, he would always hear from Zoro somehow once a day.

He'd left plenty of messages and voicemails, demanding to hear from the man, but nothing. Zoro never called or texted and after a while, everything started to go straight to voicemail, which only made his anxiety worse. To make matters worse, he had visited the gym Zoro likes to frequent around 11 at night. It was just like the idiot to lose track of time. It wouldn't be the first time either. Was he overreacting? Was he just paranoid or could something have really happened to Zoro?

A knock on his door startled him from his pacing. The knock was more of a pounding and he rushed to the door, telling himself it was Zoro. It had to be.

Luckily, it was, but he wasn't expecting the man to be holding a giant box in his arms, completely soaked and without a shirt on.

So much for getting him in that outfit tonight.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE WITHOUT A SHIRT ON?!" he screamed first. The rain that the man had obviously been stuck in could be detrimental to Zoro's health. "AND AT ONE IN THE MORNING!"

"Shh. Be quiet idiot. You'll scare them even more."

"Wha-" He was cut off by a noise coming from the box Zoro was holding and he stared at it.

Was that..? Meowing?

"Are you just gonna stand there looking retarded or can we come in?" Zoro asked. He hadn't checked on them since he picked them up, but the noises had stopped on the way home. However, he was most worried about them surviving.

"Sure. Where have you been all day? And do you have a cat in there?" Sanji questioned as he moved aside and Zoro came in to set the box on the floor. He grabbed a blanket off the back of Sanji's couch and formed a makeshift bed out of it surrounded by the couch pillows.

"Just lost track of time. Then, I wanted to take the scenic route home," he said, hoping he could lie his way through that particular question. "As for the box, you'll see in a second."

"You've been lost all day?! Well, where the fuck is your phone?"

"Dead. Can you heat up some milk? I don't know what else to give them," Zoro said, finally pulling his hoodie off the top of the box.

Sanji walked over and looked in just as Zoro had a few hours before. He noticed the fur balls curled up by the mother and the one in the opposite corner. Just at the first glance, he could tell that they weren't in good shape.

"I'll get the milk. There should be a box in my bedroom still with some of my shoes in it. Empty it out and put the blanket in there. You don't want any of the kittens to fall off the couch," Sanji said before disappearing to find some milk. On his way, he googled information about what to give them. The first site he found was some certified vet site and said evaporated milk mixed with egg yolk, so that's what he did.

When he brought the mixture back to the living room, Zoro already had the blanket and kittens moved into the new box. On his way out of the kitchen, he'd grabbed some old newspapers and laid them at the opposite end of the box. It was a low edged box, probably only about 2 inches tall, so the mother could get out, but they wouldn't have to worry about the kittens wandering too far. The box was a few feet long. Another box sat off to the side. It was just a simple small shoe box. Sanji assumed that it held the little one that died.

Sanji sat down next to Zoro and the box of kittens, placing the mixture in the bowl in an empty corner of the box. It was small enough to give the cats some room still at least.

Immediately, the mother went over to the bowl to drink.

"I found the mixture online. It's only temporary, not supposed to be used more than a few times, so tomorrow, we're gonna have to pick up some cat food for her. It'd be a good idea to get milk replacer too because I don't know if they're still nursing or not. They don't seemed to be and I would assume that if they aren't nursing, that they could move more though," the cook said.

"They might just be too weak. I don't know how long they were out there," Zoro said sadly. He tried to reach over to the mother, but as soon as he touched her fur, she hissed at him. He didn't move his hand and let her smell him. Eventually, she turned back to her food and Zoro stroked her back.

"You're right. Hopefully they'll get better though. I didn't realize you had such a sweet spot for animals marimo. I have to say.. It's kinda cute," Sanji said as he leaned his head against Zoro's shoulder, watching the kittens meow frantically and hobble around for their mother.

"They didn't even have a chance at surviving. I couldn't just leave them." Sanji closed his eyes.

"I know. Just so you know though, just because you brought them here does _not_ mean they are part my responsibility nor does it mean that I will help with them," Sanji grumbled next to Zoro's ear. It was silent for a moment before Zoro answered.

"Really cook? Look at them one more time and tell me you won't help. We both know you will anyway. There's no point in denying it."

"I can deny it as long as I want. I'm not helping," he said.

"I'll give you the best blowjob of your life if you help," Zoro said. He had no idea where his confidence had come from or why he never decides to think before he opens his mouth.

Sanji let a smirk play on his face. "You mean _meow_?"

Zoro wanted to smack him for it, but he resisted.

"If you want it _now,_ then sure. Fuckin' idiot," he answered, but they both still laughed.

"No thanks. It went away when I couldn't get ahold of you and then, walked in with a box of half dead kittens."

"It went away?" Zoro questioned with a raised eyebrow, causing a blush to spread across the cook's pale cheeks.

"Finding out my boyfriend has a secret stripper life, hell yeah I'm gonna be hard a lot. I missed out on so much," he pouted honestly. No point in lying. Plus, he had no reason to hide it anyway.

Zoro simply laughed. "You did miss out on a lot, but a lot of the reasons why I did that stuff back then was because of you too," he said, his voice trailing off and getting softer near the end of his sentence.

The mood of the room changed, filled with guilt and pain.

"I know.. I hate that I made you wait so long to say anything. If only I hadn't been so oblivious. We could've-" Sanji said sitting up, berating himself.

"Stop it cook. That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is us now. I finally have you," Zoro said, wrapping his arms around the blonde and bringing him close. He kissed the blonde on the head as they cuddled and watched the mother trot back her kittens before laying down near them again. They meowed loudly before falling against her belly, trying to nurse.

Sanji stood up. "I don't want one of us to wake up in the morning and step on a strong, but little wandering kitten or their mother, so I think it'd be better if we put them in the kitchen. I'd rather not put them in the bathroom for the same reason. Hopefully, they'll use the newspaper if they have to go to the bathroom at night." While he talked, Zoro had stood up too.

"You have a point. Let's get them to the kitchen then," Zoro said as he moved to one end of the box and bent to pick it up. Sanji did the same at his end and they carefully lifted the box and carried it to the kitchen.

After setting it down, they both headed towards the bedroom. Sanji casually slipped his fingers in between Zoro's. Talking a bit earlier made him feel guilty, but Zoro was right. Now they were together and he wanted to show Zoro how much he appreciated him.

Eagerly, he sped up and pulled Zoro behind him towards the bedroom.

"What's the rush for cook? It's just sleep. Calm down." He let out a light laugh.

"You'll see," Sanji said as he pulled Zoro into the bedroom, dragging him over next to the bed before kissing his surprised boyfriend with fervor. Slowly, he eased Zoro back onto the bed throughout the kiss, running his tongue along every crevice of Zoro's mouth, feeling his strong pectoral muscles as his tanned back made contact with the blankets. Their kiss broke as Zoro let his head fall back against the bed, breathing deeply.

Sanji slid onto the bed, straddling his boyfriend and Zoro's hands began to run up and down the cook's sides, still too hesitant about something like grabbing the cook's ass, as much as he wanted to.

Sanji bit his lip lightly. Being like this with Zoro, turned him on like nothing he's ever felt before. All the possibilities made it feel like the pleasure was coursing through his veins instead of blood. Slowing, he placed his hands on Zoro's biceps, feeling the bulging muscles there. He slid his hand along the muscle, caressing Zoro's skin. He continued, sliding his fingertips along his prominent collar bones. All he wanted to do was just _feel_ right now. Both hands advanced back to his pectorals. His right hand met the marred flesh of Zoro's scar. The man shuddered underneath him as he ran his fingertips along the scar, his left hand still in place on Zoro's chest. When he shook, Sanji felt just how excited it had gotten Zoro.

When he reached Zoro's rain dampened sweats at the bottom of the scar, he began to play with the edge of Zoro's pants. Looking up at Zoro and biting his lip again, he moved both hands down to the swordsman's bottoms, ready to pull them off. As soon as he got the edge up the slightest bit, Zoro froze and his hands shot out to Sanji's wrists, stopping all movement. They stared at each other, one with a look of confusion and one looking scared.

"I need to go home," he said, pulling the cook's hands away from himself.

"Wha-what? Why?! Zo-"

"S-sanji. I ca-can't," Zoro said. He lifted the cook by his hips and slid out from underneath him before rushing out. He forgot that he hadn't planned on seeing the cook today.

 _Fuck, that was close,_ he thought.

He heard Sanji yelling at him faintly as he shut the apartment door behind himself.

"I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE BUMBLING BISEXUAL IN DENIAL! WHAT THE FUCK MARIMO!"

* * *

 **A/N - This was sorta another filler chapter.. xD I'm sorry! I need some time to pass in their relationship before things get too dramatic xD and smutty.. xD Any suggestions are happily accepted!  
**

 **Pajamaz-** **Yeah.** **I kinda felt bad for Ace, but I also felt like** **I didn't make it emotional enough. Was it?**

 **cassy1994-** **xD Thank you! I try** **lol. Honestly, even I was excited when I had the idea xD**

 **Agentsofshield35-** **Lol you're welcome** **! It's what I'm here for xD I'm glad you like chapter 10. I hope you like this one just as much! :)**

 **Subaru's dreams-** **Yay! I was hoping it was funny and tha** **t it wasn't just me that thought it was funny and cute lol**

 **GaLemarouRinkA- Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! I'm not sure this update was necessarily "soon" though... Sorry Dx**


	12. Chapter 12

_Are you coming over today? I figured you might want to be there to bury that kitten. Plus, I DID tell you I wasn't going to be responsible for them. P.S. I would LOVE an explanation about last night too._

After rereading the text again, Sanji huffed and sent it. He was going to make Zoro regret giving him the password to his phone. Zoro hadn't answered any of his messages or phone calls last night nor has he said anything to him this morning. Sure, last night, Zoro's phone had died, but there was no excuse for not answering this morning. It was really starting to tick the cook off and his irritation showed in his work today. He hadn't even really realized how hard he was chopping the onions until he heard Patty's voice behind him.

"You do fucking realize we only have a few cutting boards? And now we're going to be short one more," he said scowling as he grabbed a pot from next to Sanji. Sanji seemed to snap out of his thoughts about the stupid Marimo long enough to look down and notice that he had been chopping so hard that he had damn near cut the board in half. Groaning he set the knife down and pulled out a cigarette and angrily lit it up. He had managed to go through an entire pack since this morning.

"Piss off Patty. I'm not in the mood," he answered back as he took a long drag at his cancer stick.

"Well it's not my fault you're having marital problems," he shot back, glaring at Sanji, who returned his glare with even more anger.

"Wanna say that aga-" Sanji started, getting in Patty's face, but before anything could happen the sound of wood on wood came and a sharp pain exploded in the back of Sanji's head.

"The both of you shut the hell up and get back to work!" Growled Zeff, kicking Patty to get to work before turning around to Sanji and ripping the cigarette out of his mouth, dropping it on the floor and stomping it out with his wooden leg.

"And if I've told you once, I've told you a million damn times! Don't smoke in my damn kitchen eggplant!" He growled, glaring at Sanji.

"Fuck off you old fart!" He growled back as he pushed passed Zeff to go to the employee backdoor to have another cigarette.

"Lighting up another fucking cancer stick isn't going to make this problem go away brat!" He heard Zeff say making him stop and turn back to him.

"Maybe not, but it _will_ keep me from kicking his ass!" Sanji shouted back as he gestured towards Patty. Before another word could be said, he hurried out the door, not wanting to deal with this bullshit today too.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Zoro was on his way home from work, scolding himself for being so stupid. Sanji was going to want to know why he ran. Sanji was expecting an explanation. But..

Zoro wasn't ready for that yet. Not even close. All day, he'd been distracted at work thinking back to how he'd run like a coward.

 _Oh shit!_ That was when he remembered the cook had texted him today. He was too anxious to look at it after he showered and changed after work, but if he was going to go home to a pissed off cook, he would like a heads up. After opening the message, he ran his hand across his face in frustration. That's right. He needed to buy cat food today.

Not feeling like fighting with the stupid moving street signs, he pulled up Google Maps on his phone and followed the route to the closest pet store. He wasn't sure if he should be glad or disappointed that it was close by. When he finally reached it, he took his time wandering up and down the aisles searching for the cat section. It gave him more time to figure out what to tell Sanji. He continued down the aisles until he found a bag with a picture of a cat on it. How many pounds should he get? 4 or 12? And what the hell was all the other stuff? He looked at the entire aisle full of pictures of cats with confusion. Since when did cats need so much?

"Excuse me? Sir?" Zoro looked to his side to see a boy with pink hair, staring at him. "Do you need help with anything?" Perfect!

"Yeah. I just got a cat and some kittens and I have nothing for them. What all do I need and what food should I get?" he asked. The boy launched off into explaining everything and handed him a small plastic box looking thing, some litter, a weird scoop, a bag of food and a dish set. He told him he'd have to come back for the extra stuff. He followed the boy up to the register (not without having to be redirected a few times).

"That'll be $92.36," he said after scanning everything and bagging it. Zoro almost swore out loud. Who would've thought this shit could be so expensive? He paid with an easy hundred dollar bill, a little disappointed to be losing so much already. "Ninety two thirty six out of a hundred," he said after holding it up to the light to check it's authenticity and began counting back his change. "Here," he said. "You'll probably need this too." He looked down on top of the change to see a few small coupons. "Every month or so, we have a veterinarian come in who is willing to give shots and things to pets for cheaper. You'll probably want to make sure all the kittens get their shots and you'll want to get them fixed as soon as possible, but you'll actually have to go to a veterinarian for that." Zoro nodded his thanks before grabbing his bags to leave. When he realized he wasn't sure how to get home, he sat down on the bench outside the store. Google Maps was definitely becoming his friend today. His phone didn't even glitch once either.

Well, might as well get this over with.

* * *

Zoro knocked lightly on the door to Sanji's apartment, finally getting there at 5 in the afternoon. It's a good thing it's summertime or they wouldn't have daylight to bury the poor kitten. He recalled Sanji mentioning getting out of work early today to do it too.

Sanji answered soon thereafter. The air around them grew in intensity and Zoro could feel the hair on his arms peel up from his warm skin.

"Hi," Zoro said plainly. "Stopped by and got stuff for the cats." He lifted his arms a bit to indicate the bags hanging from them.

"Oh." Sanji felt like all his anger had melted away. Zoro just being here made it slip away into nothing and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why as he moved to the side to let the man into his apartment. It was probably just the mention of the kittens.

"We can bury the little guy first and then if you want, we can figure out a way to get them to my house." Zoro moved passed him into the living room and dropped the bags on the coffee table. He could hear the soft meows of the kittens coming from the kitchen. Sanji began to talk as Zoro grabbed the cat food and dish set and they both slowly made their way to the kitchen.

"I gave them some of the mixture again this morning. The mother has been drinking quite a bit of it at least. The little bastards are definitely moving around more. They were making noises like crazy and two decided to wander across my feet while I was making breakfast this morning before work."

"Good to know they're already getting better," he said with a smile on his face. Sanji looked at the man's smile and felt his heart melt a little as he slowly pushed open the swinging door that led to the kitchen. The meows grew louder in volume as the door opened. Immediately, two of the three began to hobble towards the door on their shaky legs.

None being in range of being hit by the door, Zoro pushed by the cook to get to his newfound babies. If possible, his smile stretched wider as he sat in front of the box that housed the kittens for the time being. The wandering ones approached him and tried to climb his legs while the mother stretched from her resting place in the box, awoken from her sleep.

It reminded Sanji a lot of Zoro. Always sleeping.

Zoro filled one dish with the kitten food that was given to him by the man at the store and handed the other matching bowl to the cook to fill with water.

"I was thinking about it a little bit. Do you think Senshi would fit her well enough for a name?" Zoro asks quietly as they watch the mother sniff cautiously at the new bowls and food.

"What's that?" Sanji asks as he sits down too. The kittens are definitely moving around a lot more.

"Means warrior in Japanese," Zoro says as he lightly scratches one kitten's belly.

Sanji nods and begins to light up a cigarette. "Sounds good to me. I'd definitely call her a little warrior." They sat in the awkward silence that followed, watching the kittens wander in circles. "Are you even going to acknowledge or at least explain to me what happened last night?" Sanji asks quietly between puffs of his cigarette. Zoro looks off to the side, saying nothing for a few moments.

"I acknowledge it enough. I just.. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this yet. I kinda have an idea of what I _want_ to say, but I just can't.. UGH.. put it into words per say. Do you know what I mean?" Zoro looks back at the cook finally, a slight glint of hope in his eyes.

The cook eyes are still focused on the kittens and mother, who all began returning to the box, now that the commotion was over. "Honestly, no. I have no idea what you're trying to say except that you don't know what to say." Sanji lets out a sarcastic laugh, not knowing what to do anymore. He was mad at first, but he couldn't stay mad when he saw the marimo all excited over the kittens. When the anger was gone, he felt more level headed and couldn't be mad at the man all over again. At least he's here and talking with him finally.

Sanji stood up quickly and put out his cigarette in an ashtray on the counter. "C'mon. We got a little one to bury." He turned to make his way out of the kitchen and heard Zoro's adorable chuckle over his shoulder.

"You make it sound like we had kids together and now we're putting one six feet under." Sanji felt his cheeks heat up at the insinuation, but he wasn't wrong.

"In a way, aren't we? They're our babies now marimo." Sanji glanced at the swordsman over his shoulder with a blush on his cheeks. God, if that didn't make Zoro want to kiss him. His heart skipped a beat at the suggestion of them being _their babies._ Like, theirs _together._

"Damn, we're moving a bit quick in this relationship, aren't we?" They both chuckled as Sanji went to retrieve the lonely shoebox.

"I already called and talked to the old man. He said it was fine if we did it in his yard."

"Sounds good to me," Zoro replied. He followed the cook to the door. "I wasn't really sure about that, since we both live in apartments." They took the stairs down to the parking lot for Sanji's apartment building.

As they climbed into Sanji's car, the tension grew again. The cook passed the shoebox to the waiting swordsman in the passenger seat. Before he did anything else, he rolled the window down a little bit and lit a cigarette, hoping it would relieve some of the tension in his own body. The nicotine soothed his body like a mother soothing her crying child.

He started the car and began to head towards his old man's house. The ride there was a silent one. Both were simply mourning the unfortunate loss of their "child" and honoring the little one's final fight with survival.

When they finally reached the large house down the road from the Baratie, they were greeted by brown haired boys, excited by their arrival and asking all kinds of questions about the mysterious box.

"BOYS!" A gruff voice said from the doorway of the house. Zeff looked angrily at all four boys. "You youngins get your asses back in the house. We have a dinner to finish making." The boys both groaned in irritation, but followed their father back into the house.

"If I didn't know that all of you were adopted, I would think that you were legitimate brothers, assuming you got stuck with most of Zeff's traits. Or maybe Zeff used to be a pimp and they were your half brothers," Zoro joked.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a really REALLY big asshole?" Zoro chuckled in response, saying nothing as he trailed behind the cook into the old man's fenced in backyard. He's been over enough that he walked right over to the shed, unlocked it and pulled out a shovel. Zoro got to work digging a hole in the far corner of the yard while Sanji smoked.

"Remember when we used to play out here all the time? The yard felt so much bigger back then." Zoro grunted in agreement.

"I remember you being the biggest dick. Always kicking the shit out of me when we played tag because you refused to use your hands to touch me." Sanji wasn't sure if he was supposed to take that more than one way or not. "Personally, I used to think it was a line of shit just because you enjoyed trying to beat the shit out of me," Zoro laughed.

"What do you mean, 'trying'? I _did_ beat the shit out of you and you're damn right I enjoyed it. I could STILL beat you any day at tag too," the cook added impishly.

Zoro buried the shovel in the dir, satisfied with the size of the hole.

Sanji opened the box and wrapped the washcloth that was left in the box around the limp body and lowered it into the hole before it was covered with dirt by Zoro.

"Rest in peace, little guy. You put up one helluva fight. For once, I'm glad this idiot got lost."

"I wasn't lost," Zoro mumbled as he threw the last of the dirt on the grave.

Zoro went to take care of the shovel as Sanji lit up another cigarette and packed the dirt harder onto the grave. He heard Zoro jump the fence and couldn't help but holler, "don't get lost!" after the man.

Zoro came back with a sizeable rock and placed it at the top of the grave. They each stood there in silence for a moment before Zoro spoke up.

"So… you wanna test out what you said earlier cook?" Sanji was confused until he felt a sudden pain in his shoulder. The swordsman was standing further away from him now and it took him a second to realize the man had just hit him.

Zoro wiggled his eyebrows playfully at this cook when he saw the realization cross his face.

"Tag," Zoro said. "You're it."

Oh, it was _on._

* * *

"Hey, old man. Why are Sanji and Zoro running around the yard like idiots?" his son Cooper asked.

"Because that's exactly what they are. Idiots. _Duh._ Are you an idiot too?" his other, Jake, responded.

"Zeff came up behind both boys and peered out the window with them before knocking both on their heads.

"Stop calling me old man. I'm your father. And your brother is right. It's because you're all idiots, but I'm the only one allowed to call you guys idiots. So.. be nice to your brothers." They rubbed their head in pain and irritation.

No fair.

"But Sanji calls you old man!" Cooper complained.

"Yeah and I tried to beat the habit out of him when he was your age, but he was too stubborn. I can't say I didn't enjoy trying though. If you wanna be beat too, keep calling me that." Zeff gave one last glance out the window before hobbling back towards the kitchen on his peg leg.

"Dad?" Their father looked at them to show he was listening. "Are they dating?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"Well, I thought you only kiss people you date unless it's family," his son answered, voice full of curiosity.

"WHAT," Zeff said in shock before hurrying back to the window to see his oldest son locking lips with a plant as it started to rain. Considering he was on top, he could've easily assumed Sanji had even been the one to initiate it. "Get back to work you little brats! Stop peeping on your brother! You can ask him about that yourself, but later. We have food to make." The boys wandered back to the kitchen whispering to each other. With one last look out the glas, Zeff shut the curtains and followed them with a shake of his head and the hint of a smile on his face.

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 **A/N - I'm so sorry this one took so long! *Sobs disgustingly* I truly hope everyone liked it. I've been taking more and more college classes and hours each semester, but I'm starting to write again and frankly I didn't realize how much I missed it! I do have the outline for the next chapter planned out already. I just have to write it. Also, I've been working on 50 Shades still. My writer's block for this is finally dissipating! :D Thank you to everyone who has been patient with me over this past year. Hopefully, I'll be updating more often. I TRULY LOVE YOU GUYS. I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. If anyone has any suggestions or anything at all that you want to talk about, my inbox is empty and open ^-^ Again, this hasn't been edited yet either because I feel like everyone deserved it, so if you see anything I need to fix, please let me know, even if it's the lack of a period or apostrophe.**


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